ALBERT

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉〈italic〉INSIGHT〈/italic〉 is a Python‐based software tool for processing and reducing 2D grazing‐incidence wide‐ and small‐angle X‐ray scattering (GIWAXS/GISAXS) data. It offers the geometric transformation of the 2D GIWAXS/GISAXS detector image to reciprocal space, including vectorized and parallelized pixel‐wise intensity correction calculations. An explicit focus on efficient data management and batch processing enables full control of large time‐resolved synchrotron and laboratory data sets for a detailed analysis of kinetic GIWAXS/GISAXS studies of thin films. It processes data acquired with arbitrarily rotated detectors and performs vertical, horizontal, azimuthal and radial cuts in reciprocal space. It further allows crystallographic indexing and GIWAXS pattern simulation, and provides various plotting and export functionalities. Customized scripting offers a one‐step solution to reduce, process, analyze and export findings of large 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 and 〈italic〉operando〈/italic〉 data sets.〈/p〉

Description: The recent diversification of macromolecular crystallographic experiments including the use of pink beams, convergent electron diffraction and serial snapshot crystallography has shown the limitations of using the Laue equations for diffraction prediction. This article gives a computationally efficient way of calculating approximate crystal diffraction patterns given varying distributions of the incoming beam, crystal shapes and other potentially hidden parameters. This approach models each pixel of a diffraction pattern and improves data processing of integrated peak intensities by enabling the correction of partially recorded reflections. The fundamental idea is to express the distributions as weighted sums of Gaussian functions. The approach is demonstrated on serial femtosecond crystallography data sets, showing a significant decrease in the required number of patterns to refine a structure to a given error.

Description: Reflection position, size and shape prediction and partiality estimation of crystal diffraction by integrating using a Gaussian basis are described.

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Complex functional materials play a crucial role in a broad range of energy‐related applications and in general for materials science. Revealing the structural mechanisms is challenging due to highly correlated coexisting phases and microstructures, especially for 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 or 〈italic〉operando〈/italic〉 investigations. Since the grain sizes influence the properties, these microstructural features further complicate investigations at synchrotrons due to the limitations of illuminated sample volumes. In this study, it is demonstrated that such complex functional materials with highly correlated coexisting phases can be investigated under 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 conditions with neutron diffraction. For large grain sizes, these experiments are valuable methods to reveal the structural mechanisms. For an example of 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 experiments on barium titanate with an applied electric field, details of the electric‐field‐induced phase transformation depending on grain size and frequency are revealed. The results uncover the strain mechanisms in barium titanate and elucidate the complex interplay of stresses in relation to grain sizes as well as domain‐wall densities and mobilities.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉This work reports 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 neutron diffraction experiments on a broad range of grain sizes of barium titanate. The study reveals the grain‐size‐dependent strain mechanisms and shows the competitiveness of neutron diffraction with high‐resolution synchrotron diffraction.〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:16005767:jcr2vb5054:jcr2vb5054-fig-0001"〉 〈alt-text〉image〈/alt-text〉 〈/graphic〉〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: Two data evaluation concepts for X‐ray stress analysis based on energy‐dispersive diffraction on polycrystalline materials with cubic crystal structure, almost random crystallographic texture and strong single‐crystal elastic anisotropy are subjected to comparative assessment. The aim is the study of the residual stress state in hard‐to‐reach measurement points, for which the sin2ψ method is not applicable due to beam shadowing at larger sample tilting. This makes the approaches attractive for stress analysis in engineering parts with complex shapes, for example. Both approaches are based on the assumption of a biaxial stress state within the irradiated sample volume. They exploit in different ways the elastic anisotropy of individual crystallites acting at the microscopic scale and the anisotropy imposed on the material by the near‐surface stress state at the macroscopic scale. They therefore complement each other, in terms of both their preconditions and their results. The first approach is based on the evaluation of strain differences, which makes it less sensitive to variations in the strain‐free lattice parameter a0. Since it assumes a homogeneous stress state within the irradiated sample volume, it provides an average value of the in‐plane stresses. The second approach exploits the sensitivity of the lattice strain to changes in a0. Consequently, it assumes a homogeneous chemical composition but provides a stress profile within the information depth. Experimental examples from different fields in materials science, namely shot peening of austenitic steel and in situ stress analysis during welding, are presented to demonstrate the suitability of the proposed methods.

Description: The single‐crystal elastic anisotropy and the anisotropy of the near‐surface (residual) stress state of polycrystalline materials with random texture are exploited in energy‐dispersive X‐ray stress analysis to study samples under constrained measurement conditions.

Description: A pseudosymmetric description of the crystal lattice derived from a single wide‐angle Kikuchi pattern can have several causes. The small size (〈15%) of the sector covered by an electron backscatter diffraction pattern, the limited precision of the projection centre position and the Kikuchi band definition are crucial. Inherent pseudosymmetries of the crystal lattice and/or structure also pose a challenge in the analysis of Kikuchi patterns. To eliminate experimental errors as much as possible, simulated Kikuchi patterns of 350 phases have been analysed using the software CALM [Nolze et al. (2021). J. Appl. Cryst.54, 1012–1022] in order to estimate the frequency of and reasons for pseudosymmetric crystal lattice descriptions. Misinterpretations occur in particular when the atomic scattering factors of non‐equivalent positions are too similar and reciprocal‐lattice points are systematically missing. As an example, a pseudosymmetry prediction depending on the elements involved is discussed for binary AB compounds with B1 and B2 structure types. However, since this is impossible for more complicated phases, this approach cannot be directly applied to compounds of arbitrary composition and structure.

Description: Distinguishing between actual and apparent pseudosymmetry in electron backscatter diffraction patterns is nearly impossible, even for simulated patterns. However, the resulting lattice is always a superlattice as long as the signal is not a superposition of multiple patterns.

Description: A band width determination using the first derivative of the band profile systematically underestimates the true Bragg angle. Corrections are proposed to compensate for the resulting offset Δa/a of the mean lattice parameters derived from as many Kikuchi band widths as possible. For dynamically simulated Kikuchi patterns, Δa/a can reach up to 8% for phases with a high mean atomic number Z, whereas for much more common low‐Z materials the offset decreases linearly. A predicted offset Δa/a = f(Z) is therefore proposed, which also includes the unit‐cell volume and thus takes into account the packing density of the scatterers in the material. Since Z is not always available for unknown phases, its substitution by Zmax, i.e. the atomic number of the heaviest element in the compound, is still acceptable for an approximate correction. For simulated Kikuchi patterns the offset‐corrected lattice parameter deviation is Δa/a 〈 1.5%. The lattice parameter ratios, and the angles α, β and γ between the basis vectors, are not affected at all.

Description: Automatically determined band widths in simulated backscatter Kikuchi patterns exhibit differences from the double Bragg angles that correlate with the scatterer density. Corrections are proposed to compensate for this.

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The high‐intensity time‐of‐flight (TOF) neutron diffractometer POWTEX for powder and texture analysis is currently being built prior to operation in the eastern guide hall of the research reactor FRM II at Garching close to Munich, Germany. Because of the world‐wide 〈sup〉3〈/sup〉He crisis in 2009, the authors promptly initiated the development of 〈sup〉3〈/sup〉He‐free detector alternatives that are tailor‐made for the requirements of large‐area diffractometers. Herein is reported the 2017 enterprise to operate one mounting unit of the final POWTEX detector on the neutron powder diffractometer POWGEN at the Spallation Neutron Source located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. As a result, presented here are the first angular‐ and wavelength‐dependent data from the POWTEX detector, unfortunately damaged by a 50〈italic〉g〈/italic〉 shock but still operating, as well as the efforts made both to characterize the transport damage and to successfully recalibrate the voxel positions in order to yield nonetheless reliable measurements. Also described is the current data reduction process using the 〈italic〉PowderReduceP2D〈/italic〉 algorithm implemented in 〈italic〉Mantid〈/italic〉 [Arnold 〈italic〉et al.〈/italic〉 (2014). 〈italic〉Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A〈/italic〉, 〈bold〉764〈/bold〉, 156–166]. The final part of the data treatment chain, namely a novel multi‐dimensional refinement using a modified version of the 〈italic〉GSAS‐II〈/italic〉 software suite [〈ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://scripts.iucr.org/cgi-bin/paper?aj5212"〉Toby & Von Dreele (2013). 〈italic〉J. Appl. Cryst.〈/italic〉〈bold〉46〈/bold〉, 544–549〈/ext-link〉], is compared with a standard data treatment of the same event data conventionally reduced as TOF diffraction patterns and refined with the unmodified version of 〈italic〉GSAS‐II〈/italic〉. This involves both determining the instrumental resolution parameters using POWGEN's powdered diamond standard sample and the refinement of a friendly‐user sample, BaZn(NCN)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. Although each structural parameter on its own looks similar upon comparing the conventional (1D) and multi‐dimensional (2D) treatments, also in terms of precision, a closer view shows small but possibly significant differences. For example, the somewhat suspicious proximity of the 〈italic〉a〈/italic〉 and 〈italic〉b〈/italic〉 lattice parameters of BaZn(NCN)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 crystallizing in 〈italic〉Pbca〈/italic〉 as resulting from the 1D refinement (0.008 Å) is five times less pronounced in the 2D refinement (0.038 Å). Similar features are found when comparing bond lengths and bond angles, 〈italic〉e.g.〈/italic〉 the two N—C—N units are less differently bent in the 1D results (173 and 175°) than in the 2D results (167 and 173°). The results are of importance not only for POWTEX but also for other neutron TOF diffractometers with large‐area detectors, like POWGEN at the SNS or the future DREAM beamline at the European Spallation Source.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The first real‐world neutron diffraction data have been collected with one of the POWTEX detectors (FRM II, Garching, Germany) mounted for testing at the Spallation Neutron Source (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA). They allow for angular‐ and wavelength‐dispersive Rietveld refinement using a modified version of 〈italic〉GSAS‐II〈/italic〉.〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:16005767:jcr2tu5033:jcr2tu5033-fig-0001"〉 〈/graphic〉〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The paper by Gopalan [〈ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://scripts.iucr.org/cgi-bin/paper?ib5086"〉(2020). 〈italic〉Acta Cryst.〈/italic〉 A〈bold〉76〈/bold〉, 318–327〈/ext-link〉] presented an enumeration of the 41 physical quantity types in non‐relativistic physics, in arbitrary dimensions, based on the formalism of Clifford algebra. Gopalan considered three antisymmetries: spatial inversion, 〈overline〉1〈/overline〉, time reversal, 1′, and wedge reversion, 1〈sup〉†〈/sup〉. A consideration of the set of all seven antisymmetries (〈overline〉1〈/overline〉, 1′, 1〈sup〉†〈/sup〉, 1′〈sup〉†〈/sup〉, 〈overline〉1〈/overline〉〈sup〉†〈/sup〉, 〈overline〉1〈/overline〉′, 〈overline〉1〈/overline〉′〈sup〉†〈/sup〉) leads to an extension of the results obtained by Gopalan. It is shown that there are 51 types of physical quantities with distinct symmetry properties in total.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉It is shown that there are 51 types of physical quantities in arbitrary dimensions with distinct transformations by wedge reversion symmetry. In the paper by 〈ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://scripts.iucr.org/cgi-bin/paper?ib5086"〉Gopalan [(2020). 〈italic〉Acta Cryst.〈/italic〉 A〈bold〉76〈/bold〉, 318–327]〈/ext-link〉 only 41 types were enumerated.〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:20532733:aya2ib5117:aya2ib5117-fig-0001"〉 〈alt-text〉image〈/alt-text〉 〈/graphic〉〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: The derivation of a crystal structure and its phase‐specific parameters from a single wide‐angle backscattered Kikuchi diffraction pattern requires reliable extraction of the Bragg angles. By means of the first derivative of the lattice profile, an attempt is made to determine fully automatically and reproducibly the band widths in simulated Kikuchi patterns. Even under such ideal conditions (projection centre, wavelength and lattice plane traces are perfectly known), this leads to a lattice parameter distribution whose mean shows a linear offset that correlates with the mean atomic number Z of the pattern‐forming phase. The consideration of as many Kikuchi bands as possible reduces the errors that typically occur if only a single band is analysed. On the other hand, the width of the resulting distribution is such that higher image resolution of diffraction patterns, employing longer wavelengths to produce wider bands or the use of higher interference orders is less advantageous than commonly assumed.

Description: The lattice parameters of more than 350 phases have been determined from simulated backscatter Kikuchi patterns. The deviations correlating with the mean atomic number correspond to those observed previously for experimental electron backscatter diffraction patterns.

Description: Serial crystallography experiments produce massive amounts of experimental data. Yet in spite of these large‐scale data sets, only a small percentage of the data are useful for downstream analysis. Thus, it is essential to differentiate reliably between acceptable data (hits) and unacceptable data (misses). To this end, a novel pipeline is proposed to categorize the data, which extracts features from the images, summarizes these features with the `bag of visual words' method and then classifies the images using machine learning. In addition, a novel study of various feature extractors and machine learning classifiers is presented, with the aim of finding the best feature extractor and machine learning classifier for serial crystallography data. The study reveals that the oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF (ORB) feature extractor with a multilayer perceptron classifier gives the best results. Finally, the ORB feature extractor with multilayer perceptron is evaluated on various data sets including both synthetic and experimental data, demonstrating superior performance compared with other feature extractors and classifiers.

Description: A machine learning method for distinguishing good and bad images in serial crystallography is presented. To reduce the computational cost, this uses the oriented FAST and rotated BRIEF feature extraction method from computer vision to detect image features, followed by a multilayer perceptron (neural network) to classify the images.

Description: Since high‐pressure devices have been used at synchrotron facilities, accurate determination of pressure and temperature in the sample has been a crucial objective, particularly for experiments that simulate the Earth's interior. However, in some cases using a thermocouple may have a high likelihood of failure or is incompatible with a high‐pressure assembly. To address these challenges and similar issues, we aim to expand a previously proposed solution: to jointly estimate pressure and temperature (〈italic〉PT〈/italic〉) through 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 X‐ray diffraction, to cover a wider range of internal 〈italic〉PT〈/italic〉 calibrants tested over larger 〈italic〉PT〈/italic〉 ranges. A modifiable Python‐based software is offered to quickly obtain results. To achieve these aims, 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 large volume press experiments are performed on pellets of intimately mixed powders of a halide (NaCl, KCl, KBr, CsCl) or MgO and a metal (Pt, Re, Mo, W, Ni) in the pressure range 3–11 GPa and temperature range 300–1800 K. Although the pressure range was chosen for practical reasons, it also covers an equally important depth range in the Earth (down to 350 km) for geoscience studies. A thermocouple was used to validate the 〈italic〉PT〈/italic〉 conditions in the cell assemblies. The key results show that choosing the appropriate calibrant materials and using a joint 〈italic〉PT〈/italic〉 estimation can yield surprisingly small uncertainties (〈italic〉i.e.〈/italic〉 〈±0.1 GPa and 〈±50 K). This development is expected to benefit current and future research at extreme conditions, as other materials with high compressibility or high thermal pressure, stable over large 〈italic〉PT〈/italic〉 ranges, may be discovered and used as 〈italic〉PT〈/italic〉 calibrants.〈/p〉

Description: Research in high‐pressure devices, such as the diamond anvil cell and the large volume press, requires knowledge of the pressure and temperature in the sample. Here, a large volume press and an internal resistive heater were used to generate high load and heat to various combinations of intimately mixed powders of materials. X‐ray diffraction and custom software were used to jointly estimate the pressures and temperatures in the samples and establish calibrants for 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 experiments at extreme conditions.〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:16005775:jsy2vl5008:jsy2vl5008-fig-0001"〉

Description: https://gitlab.desy.de/robert.farla/eoscross

Description: Full‐field X‐ray nanoimaging is a widely used tool in a broad range of scientific areas. In particular, for low‐absorbing biological or medical samples, phase contrast methods have to be considered. Three well established phase contrast methods at the nanoscale are transmission X‐ray microscopy with Zernike phase contrast, near‐field holography and near‐field ptychography. The high spatial resolution, however, often comes with the drawback of a lower signal‐to‐noise ratio and significantly longer scan times, compared with microimaging. In order to tackle these challenges a single‐photon‐counting detector has been implemented at the nanoimaging endstation of the beamline P05 at PETRA III (DESY, Hamburg) operated by Helmholtz‐Zentrum Hereon. Thanks to the long sample‐to‐detector distance available, spatial resolutions of below 100 nm were reached in all three presented nanoimaging techniques. This work shows that a single‐photon‐counting detector in combination with a long sample‐to‐detector distance allows one to increase the time resolution for in situ nanoimaging, while keeping a high signal‐to‐noise level.

Description: A direct photon‐counting detector was used for different nanoimaging phase contrast techniques, increasing the temporal resolution.

Description: Machine learning (ML) has received enormous attention in science and beyond. Discussed here are the status, opportunities, challenges and limitations of ML as applied to X‐ray and neutron scattering techniques, with an emphasis on surface scattering. Typical strategies are outlined, as well as possible pitfalls. Applications to reflectometry and grazing‐incidence scattering are critically discussed. Comment is also given on the availability of training and test data for ML applications, such as neural networks, and a large reflectivity data set is provided as reference data for the community.

Description: The status, opportunities, challenges and limitations of machine learning are discussed as applied to X‐ray and neutron scattering techniques, with an emphasis on surface scattering.

Description: The storage ring upgrade of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility makes ESRF–EBS the most brilliant high‐energy fourth‐generation light source, enabling in situ studies with unprecedented time resolution. While radiation damage is commonly associated with degradation of organic matter such as ionic liquids or polymers in the synchrotron beam, this study clearly shows that highly brilliant X‐ray beams readily induce structural changes and beam damage in inorganic matter, too. Here, the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ in iron oxide nanoparticles by radicals in the brilliant ESRF–EBS beam, not observed before the upgrade, is reported. Radicals are created due to radiolysis of an EtOH–H2O mixture with low EtOH concentration (∼6 vol%). In light of extended irradiation times during insitu experiments in, for example, battery and catalysis research, beam‐induced redox chemistry needs to be understood for proper interpretation of insitu data.

Description: With the increased brilliance at the European Research Facility–Extremely Brilliant Source (ESRF–EBS), a beam‐induced reduction of non‐stochiometric iron oxide nanoparticles (almost maghemite composition) to magnetite was observed in a mixture of ethanol and water with low ethanol concentration.

Description: In Bragg coherent diffractive imaging, the precise location of the measured crystals in the interior of the sample is usually missing. Obtaining this information would help the study of the spatially dependent behavior of particles in the bulk of inhomogeneous samples, such as extra‐thick battery cathodes. This work presents an approach to determine the 3D position of particles by precisely aligning them at the instrument axis of rotation. In the test experiment reported here, with a 60 µm‐thick LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 battery cathode, the particles were located with a precision of 20 µm in the out‐of‐plane direction, and the in‐plane coordinates were determined with a precision of 1 µm.

Description: A method to determine the 3D position of particles in Bragg coherent diffractive imaging experiments is proposed. Test measurements demonstrate depth‐resolution with a precision of 20 µm along the beam. image

Description: A split‐and‐delay unit for the extreme ultraviolet and soft X‐ray spectral regions has been built which enables time‐resolved experiments at beamlines FL23 and FL24 at the Free‐electron LASer in Hamburg (FLASH). Geometric wavefront splitting at a sharp edge of a beam splitting mirror is applied to split the incoming soft X‐ray pulse into two beams. Ni and Pt coatings at grazing incidence angles have been chosen in order to cover the whole spectral range of FLASH2 and beyond, up to hν = 1800 eV. In the variable beam path with a grazing incidence angle of ϑd = 1.8°, the total transmission (T) ranges are of the order of 0.48 〈 T 〈 0.84 for hν 〈 100 eV and T 〉 0.50 for 100 eV 〈 hν 〈 650 eV with the Ni coating, and T 〉 0.06 for hν 〈 1800 eV for the Pt coating. For a fixed beam path with a grazing incidence angle of ϑf = 1.3°, a transmission of T 〉 0.61 with the Ni coating and T 〉 0.23 with a Pt coating is achieved. Soft X‐ray pump/soft X‐ray probe experiments are possible within a delay range of −5 ps 〈 Δt 〈 +18 ps with a nominal time resolution of tr = 66 as and a measured timing jitter of tj = 121 ± 2 as. First experiments with the split‐and‐delay unit determined the averaged coherence time of FLASH2 to be τc = 1.75 fs at λ = 8 nm, measured at a purposely reduced coherence of the free‐electron laser.

Description: The properties of the recently installed split‐and‐delay unit at beamlines FL23 and FL24 at FLASH2 are presented. Its operational range, performance parameters and results of a first experiment are described. image

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉〈italic〉XDSGUI〈/italic〉 is a lightweight graphical user interface (GUI) for the 〈italic〉XDS〈/italic〉, 〈italic〉SHELX〈/italic〉 and 〈italic〉ARCIMBOLDO〈/italic〉 program packages that serves both novice and experienced users in obtaining optimal processing and phasing results for X‐ray, neutron and electron diffraction data. The design of the program enables data processing and phasing without command line usage, and supports advanced command flows in a simple user‐modifiable and user‐extensible way. The GUI supplies graphical information based on the tabular log output of the programs, which is more intuitive, comprehensible and efficient than text output can be.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉A customizable stateless graphical user interface simplifies the processing, analysis and phasing of diffraction data.〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:16005767:jcr2yr5110:jcr2yr5110-fig-0001"〉 〈alt-text〉image〈/alt-text〉 〈/graphic〉〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: Scientific tasks aimed at decoding and characterizing complex systems and processes at high pressures set new challenges for modern X‐ray diffraction instrumentation in terms of X‐ray flux, focal spot size and sample positioning. Presented here are new developments at the Extreme Conditions beamline (P02.2, PETRA III, DESY, Germany) that enable considerable improvements in data collection at very high pressures and small scattering volumes. In particular, the focusing of the X‐ray beam to the sub‐micrometer level is described, and control of the aberrations of the focusing compound refractive lenses is made possible with the implementation of a correcting phase plate. This device provides a significant enhancement of the signal‐to‐noise ratio by conditioning the beam shape profile at the focal spot. A new sample alignment system with a small sphere of confusion enables single‐crystal data collection from grains of micrometer to sub‐micrometer dimensions subjected to pressures as high as 200 GPa. The combination of the technical development of the optical path and the sample alignment system contributes to research and gives benefits on various levels, including rapid and accurate diffraction mapping of samples with sub‐micrometer resolution at multimegabar pressures.

Description: Facing the challenges of X‐ray diffraction from tiny samples subjected to multimegabar pressures, instrumentation developments are presented that enable, among other studies, single‐crystal data collection from micrometer‐ to sub‐micrometer‐sized grains. The developments are based on a sub‐micrometer beam capability employing compound refractive lenses operating with a phase correcting plate and a precise motorization solution.

Description: The small‐angle neutron scattering data of nanostructured magnetic samples contain information regarding their chemical and magnetic properties. Often, the first step to access characteristic magnetic and structural length scales is a model‐free investigation. However, due to measurement uncertainties and a restricted q range, a direct Fourier transform usually fails and results in ambiguous distributions. To circumvent these problems, different methods have been introduced to derive regularized, more stable correlation functions, with the indirect Fourier transform being the most prominent approach. Here, the indirect Fourier transform is compared with the singular value decomposition and an iterative algorithm. These approaches are used to determine the correlation function from magnetic small‐angle neutron scattering data of a powder sample of iron oxide nanoparticles; it is shown that with all three methods, in principle, the same correlation function can be derived. Each method has certain advantages and disadvantages, and thus the recommendation is to combine these three approaches to obtain robust results.

Description: Three different approaches are compared for determination of the correlation function from the small‐angle neutron scattering data of a powder sample of iron oxide nanoparticles.

Description: A method of ab initio crystal structure determination from powder diffraction data for organic and metal–organic compounds, which does not require prior indexing of the powder pattern, has been developed. Only a reasonable molecular geometry is required, needing knowledge of neither unit‐cell parameters nor space group. The structures are solved from scratch by a global fit to the powder data using the new program FIDEL‐GO (`FIt with DEviating Lattice parameters ‐ Global Optimization'). FIDEL‐GO uses a similarity measure based on cross‐correlation functions, which allows the comparison of simulated and experimental powder data even if the unit‐cell parameters deviate strongly. The optimization starts from large sets of random structures in various space groups. The unit‐cell parameters, molecular position and orientation, and selected internal degrees of freedom are fitted simultaneously to the powder pattern. The optimization proceeds in an elaborate multi‐step procedure with built‐in clustering of duplicate structures and iterative adaptation of parameter ranges. The best structures are selected for an automatic Rietveld refinement. Finally, a user‐controlled Rietveld refinement is performed. The procedure aims for the analysis of a wide range of `problematic' powder patterns, in particular powders of low crystallinity. The method can also be used for the clustering and screening of a large number of possible structure candidates and other application scenarios. Examples are presented for structure determination from unindexed powder data of the previously unknown structures of the nanocrystalline phases of 4,11‐difluoro‐, 2,9‐dichloro‐ and 2,9‐dichloro‐6,13‐dihydro‐quinacridone, which were solved from powder patterns with 14–20 peaks only, and of the coordination polymer dichloro‐bis(pyridine‐N)copper(II).

Description: A new method for the structure determination of molecular crystals from unindexed powder data has been developed and successfully applied. The method performs a global optimization using pattern comparison based on cross‐correlation functions.

Description: The nuclear and magnetic structures of Mn3Fe2Si3 are investigated in the temperature range from 20 to 300 K. The magnetic properties of Mn3Fe2Si3 were measured on a single crystal. The compound undergoes a paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition at TN2 ≃ 120 K and an antiferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition at TN1 ≃ 69 K. A similar sequence of magnetic phase transitions is found for the parent compound Mn5Si3 upon temperature variation, but the field‐driven transition observed in Mn5Si3 is not found in Mn3Fe2Si3, resulting in a strongly reduced magnetocaloric effect. Structurally, the hexagonal symmetry found for both compounds under ambient conditions is preserved in Mn3Fe2Si3 through both magnetic transitions, indicating that the crystal structure is only weakly affected by the magnetic phase transition, in contrast to Mn5Si3 where both transitions distort the nuclear structure. Both compounds feature a collinear high‐temperature magnetic phase AF2 and transfer into a non‐collinear phase AF1 at low temperature. While one of the distinct crystallographic sites remains disordered in the AF2 phase in the parent compound, the magnetic structure in the AF2 phase involves all magnetic atoms in Mn3Fe2Si3. These observations imply that the distinct sites occupied by the magnetic atoms play an important role in the magnetocaloric behaviour of the family.

Description: The nuclear and magnetic structures of Mn3Fe2Si3 are determined and the magnetic properties are compared with those of the parent compound Mn5Si3. The results imply that the distinct magnetic sites play an important role in the magnetocaloric behaviour of the family. image

Description: A Guinier camera equipped with an imaging plate is used to investigate and eliminate the sources of instrumental errors affecting the quality of the obtained scanned Guinier data. A program with a graphical user interface is presented which converts the data of the scanned images into different standard file formats for powder X‐ray patterns containing intensities, their standard deviations and the diffraction angles. The program also allows for manual and automatic correction of the 2gθ scale against a known reference material. It is shown using LaB6 that the exported X‐ray diffraction patterns provide a 2gθ scale reproducible enough to allow for averaging diffractograms obtained from different exposures of the imaging plate for the same sample. As shown on a mixture of NaCl and sodalite, the quality of the produced data is sufficient for Rietveld refinement. The software including source code is made available under a free software license.

Description: A program for the digitization of Guinier powder diffraction images is described, which works with images from both optical and laser scanners. Thus, processing of data from storage‐phosphor‐based imaging plates and Ag‐based photographic films is possible.

Description: Magnetic small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS) is ideally suited to providing direct reciprocal‐space information on long‐wavelength magnetic modulations, such as helicoids, solitons, merons or skyrmions. SANS of such structures in thin films or micro‐structured bulk materials is strongly limited by the tiny scattering volume vis a vis the prohibitively high background scattering by the substrate and support structures. Considering near‐surface scattering just above the critical angle of reflection, where unwanted signal contributions due to substrate or support structures become very small, it is established that the scattering patterns of the helical, conical, skyrmion lattice and fluctuation‐disordered phases in a polished bulk sample of MnSi are equivalent for conventional transmission and near‐surface SANS geometries. This motivates the prediction of a complete repository of scattering patterns expected for thin films in the near‐surface SANS geometry for each orientation of the magnetic order with respect to the scattering plane.

Description: Near‐surface SANS is discussed for its potential as a probe of long‐wavelength magnetic modulations in specimens with reduced sample dimensions.

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉A way has been developed to measure the unit‐cell parameters of a single crystal just from an energy scan with X‐rays, even when the exact energy of the X‐rays is not well defined due to an error in the pitch angle of the monochromator. The precision of this measurement reaches 〈italic〉da〈/italic〉/〈italic〉a〈/italic〉 ∼ 1 × 10〈sup〉−5〈/sup〉. The method is based on the analysis of diffraction losses of the beam, transmitted through a single crystal (the so‐called `glitch effect'). This method can be easily applied to any transmissive X‐ray optical element made of single crystals (for example, X‐ray lenses). The only requirements are the possibility to change the energy of the generated X‐ray beam and some intensity monitor to measure the transmitted intensity. The method is agnostic to the error in the monochromator tuning and it can even be used for determination of the absolute pitch (or 2gθ) angle of the monochromator. Applying the same method to a crystal with well known lattice parameters allows determination of the exact cell parameters of the monochromator at any energy.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Diffraction losses (glitches) at certain energies of the X‐ray beam, transmitted through a single crystal, can be used for lattice parameters determination as well as for calibrating the monochromator (absolute pitch angle and the unit‐cell parameter).〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:16005775:jsy2ay5590:jsy2ay5590-fig-0001"〉 〈alt-text〉image〈/alt-text〉 〈/graphic〉〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: Finite size effects in partial pair distribution functions generate artefacts in the scattering structure factor and scattering intensity. It is shown how they can be overcome using a binned version of the Debye scattering equation. Accordingly, reverse Monte Carlo simulations are used for very small nanoparticles of LaFeO3 with diameters below 10 nm to simultaneously analyse X‐ray scattering data and extended X‐ray absorption fine structure spectra at the La K and Fe K edges. The structural information obtained is consistent regarding local structure and long‐range order.

Description: Computing scattering intensity using the Debye scattering equation after binning interatomic distances avoids finite size artefacts and is efficient enough for simultaneous refinement of scattering data and extended X‐ray absorption spectra by reverse Monte Carlo simulations.

Description: High‐pressure (HP) X‐ray diffraction experiments at low temperature (LT) require dedicated instruments as well as non‐standard sample environments and measuring strategies. This is especially true when helium cryogenic temperatures below 80 K are targeted. Furthermore, only experiments on single‐crystalline samples provide the prerequisites to study subtle structural changes in the p–T phase diagram under extreme LT and HP conditions in greater detail. Due to special hardware requirements, such measurements are usually in the realm of synchrotron beamlines. This contribution describes the design of an LT/HP diffractometer (HTD2) to perform single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction experiments using a laboratory source in the temperature range 400 〉 T 〉 2 K while applying pressures of up to 20 GPa.

Description: The design and operation of a newly commissioned single‐crystal X‐ray diffractometer (HTD2) are presented. The device enables experiments under simultaneous low‐temperature and high‐pressure conditions using a laboratory X‐ray source.

Description: X‐ray diffraction with high spatial resolution is commonly used to characterize (poly)crystalline samples with, for example, respect to local strain, residual stress, grain boundaries and texture. However, the investigation of highly absorbing samples or the simultaneous assessment of high‐Z materials by X‐ray fluorescence have been limited due to the utilization of low photon energies. Here, a goniometer‐based setup implemented at the P06 beamline of PETRA III that allows for micrometre spatial resolution with a photon energy of 35 keV and above is reported. A highly focused beam was achieved by using compound refractive lenses, and high‐precision sample manipulation was enabled by a goniometer that allows up to 5D scans (three rotations and two translations). As experimental examples, the determination of local strain variations in martensitic steel samples with micrometre spatial resolution, as well as the simultaneous elemental distribution for high‐Z materials in a thin‐film solar cell, are demonstrated. The proposed approach allows users from the materials‐science community to determine micro‐structural properties even in highly absorbing samples.

Description: A demonstration of high‐resolution micro X‐ray diffraction at high photon energies for highly absorbing samples.

Description: This paper presents the Domain Auto Finder (DAFi) program and its application to the analysis of single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction (SC‐XRD) data from multiphase mixtures of microcrystalline solids and powders. Superposition of numerous reflections originating from a large number of single‐crystal domains of the same and/or different (especially unknown) phases usually precludes the sorting of reflections coming from individual domains, making their automatic indexing impossible. The DAFi algorithm is designed to quickly find subsets of reflections from individual domains in a whole set of SC‐XRD data. Further indexing of all found subsets can be easily performed using widely accessible crystallographic packages. As the algorithm neither requires a priori crystallographic information nor is limited by the number of phases or individual domains, DAFi is powerful software to be used for studies of multiphase polycrystalline and microcrystalline (powder) materials. The algorithm is validated by testing on X‐ray diffraction data sets obtained from real samples: a multi‐mineral basalt rock at ambient conditions and products of the chemical reaction of yttrium and nitrogen in a laser‐heated diamond anvil cell at 50 GPa. The high performance of the DAFi algorithm means it can be used for processing SC‐XRD data online during experiments at synchrotron facilities.

Description: This paper presents the Domain Auto Finder (DAFi) program and its application to the analysis of single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction (SC‐XRD) data from multiphase mixtures of microcrystalline solids and powders. The DAFi algorithm is designed to quickly find subsets of reflections from individual domains in a whole set of SC‐XRD data and neither requires a priori crystallographic information nor is limited by the number of phases or individual domains.

Description: A newly designed setup to perform steady‐state X‐ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) spectroscopy and simultaneous XEOL and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy characterization at beamline P65 of PETRA III is described. The XEOL setup is equipped with a He‐flow cryostat and state‐of‐the‐art optical detection system, which covers a wide wavelength range of 300–1700 nm with a high spectral resolution of 0.4 nm. To demonstrate the setup functioning, low‐temperature XEOL studies on polycrystalline CuInSe2 thin film, single‐crystalline GaN thin film and single‐crystalline ZnO bulk semiconductor samples are performed.

Description: X‐ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) spectroscopy is increasingly important to understand the interplay between the optical properties, structure and chemical composition, providing insights into the mechanism of radiative recombination for a wide range of materials. This study demonstrates a newly implemented setup to perform steady‐state XEOL and simultaneous XEOL and XAFS characterizations at beamline P65 of PETRA III.

Description: X‐ray crystallography has witnessed a massive development over the past decade, driven by large increases in the intensity and brightness of X‐ray sources and enabled by employing high‐frame‐rate X‐ray detectors. The analysis of large data sets is done via automatic algorithms that are vulnerable to imperfections in the detector and noise inherent with the detection process. By improving the model of the behaviour of the detector, data can be analysed more reliably and data storage costs can be significantly reduced. One major requirement is a software mask that identifies defective pixels in diffraction frames. This paper introduces a methodology and program based upon concepts of machine learning, called robust mask maker (RMM), for the generation of bad‐pixel masks for large‐area X‐ray pixel detectors based on modern robust statistics. It is proposed to discriminate normally behaving pixels from abnormal pixels by analysing routine measurements made with and without X‐ray illumination. Analysis software typically uses a Bragg peak finder to detect Bragg peaks and an indexing method to detect crystal lattices among those peaks. Without proper masking of the bad pixels, peak finding methods often confuse the abnormal values of bad pixels in a pattern with true Bragg peaks and flag such patterns as useful regardless, leading to storage of enormous uninformative data sets. Also, it is computationally very expensive for indexing methods to search for crystal lattices among false peaks and the solution may be biased. This paper shows how RMM vastly improves peak finders and prevents them from labelling bad pixels as Bragg peaks, by demonstrating its effectiveness on several serial crystallography data sets.

Description: Attention is focused on perhaps the biggest bottleneck in data analysis for serial crystallography at X‐ray free‐electron lasers, which has not received serious enough examination to date. An effective and reliable way is presented to identify anomalies in detectors, using machine learning and recently developed mathematical methods in the field referred to as `robust statistics'. image

Description: Small‐angle scattering is an increasingly common method for characterizing particle ensembles in a wide variety of sample types and for diverse areas of application. SASfit has been one of the most comprehensive and flexible curve‐fitting programs for decades, with many specialized tools for various fields. Here, a selection of enhancements and additions to the SASfit program are presented that may be of great benefit to interested and advanced users alike: (a) further development of the technical basis of the program, such as new numerical algorithms currently in use, a continuous integration practice for automated building and packaging of the software, and upgrades on the plug‐in system for easier adoption by third‐party developers; (b) a selection of new form factors for anisotropic scattering patterns and updates to existing form factors to account for multiple scattering effects; (c) a new type of a very flexible distribution called metalog [Keelin (2016). Decis. Anal.13, 243–277], and regularization techniques such as the expectation‐maximization method [Dempster et al. (1977). J. R. Stat. Soc. Ser. B (Methodological), 39, 1–22; Richardson (1972) J. Opt. Soc. Am.62, 55; Lucy (1974). Astron. J.79, 745; Lucy (1994). Astron. Astrophys.289, 983–994], which is compared with fits of analytical size distributions via the non‐linear least‐squares method; and (d) new structure factors, especially for ordered nano‐ and meso‐scaled material systems, as well as the Ornstein–Zernike solver for numerical determination of particle interactions and the resulting structure factor when no analytical solution is available, with the aim of incorporating its effects into the small‐angle scattering intensity model used for fitting with SASfit.

Description: Recent enhancements and additions to the SASfit program are discussed, including anisotropic scattering models, flexible distributions, regularization techniques such as the expectation‐maximization method, and new structure factors, especially for ordered nano‐ and meso‐scaled material. The Ornstein–Zernike solver for numerical structure factors is also introduced. image

Description: A modulation of intensity with zero effort (MIEZE) setup is proposed for high‐resolution neutron spectroscopy at momentum transfers up to 3 Å〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, energy transfers up to 20 meV and an energy resolution in the microelectronvolt range using both thermal and cold neutrons. MIEZE has two prominent advantages compared with classical neutron spin echo. The first is the possibility to investigate spin‐depolarizing samples or samples in strong magnetic fields without loss of signal amplitude and intensity. This allows for the study of spin fluctuations in ferromagnets, and facilitates the study of samples with strong spin‐incoherent scattering. The second advantage is that multi‐analyzer setups can be implemented with comparatively little effort. The use of thermal neutrons increases the range of validity of the spin‐echo approximation towards shorter spin‐echo times. In turn, the thermal MIEZE option for greater ranges (TIGER) closes the gap between classical neutron spin‐echo spectroscopy and conventional high‐resolution neutron spectroscopy techniques such as triple‐axis, time‐of‐flight and back‐scattering. To illustrate the feasibility of TIGER, this paper presents the details of its implementation at the RESEDA beamline at FRM II by means of an additional velocity selector, polarizer and analyzer.

Description: A modulation of intensity with zero effort (MIEZE) setup is proposed for high‐resolution neutron spectroscopy at momentum transfers up to 3 Å〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, energy transfers up to 20 meV and an energy resolution in the microelectronvolt range using both thermal and cold neutrons.

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Penetrating, high‐energy synchrotron X‐rays are in strong demand, particularly for high‐pressure research in physics, chemistry and geosciences, and for materials engineering research under less extreme conditions. A new high‐energy wiggler beamline P61 has been constructed to meet this need at PETRA III in Hamburg, Germany. The first part of the paper offers an overview of the beamline front‐end components and beam characteristics. The second part describes the performance of the instrumentation and the latest developments at the P61B endstation. Particular attention is given to the unprecedented high‐energy photon flux delivered by the ten wigglers of the PETRA III storage ring and the challenges faced in harnessing this amount of flux and heat load in the beam. Furthermore, the distinctiveness of the world's first six‐ram Hall‐type large‐volume press, Aster‐15, at a synchrotron facility is described for research with synchrotron X‐rays. Additionally, detection schemes, experimental strategies and preliminary data acquired using energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction and radiography techniques are presented.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The operation of the P61B endstation large‐volume press and optics of P61 are reviewed. The instrumentation at P61B, including the large‐volume press, detection systems and data acquisition for 〈italic〉in situ〈/italic〉 high‐pressure experiments are described.〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:16005775:jsy2ju5040:jsy2ju5040-fig-0001"〉 〈/graphic〉〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Studying electron‐ and X‐ray‐induced electron cascades in solids is essential for various research areas at free‐electron laser facilities, such as X‐ray imaging, crystallography, pulse diagnostics or X‐ray‐induced damage. To better understand the fundamental factors that define the duration and spatial size of such cascades, this work investigates the electron propagation in ten solids relevant for the applications of X‐ray lasers: Au, B〈sub〉4〈/sub〉C, diamond, Ni, polystyrene, Ru, Si, SiC, Si〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 and W. Using classical Monte Carlo simulation in the atomic approximation, we study the dependence of the cascade size on the incident electron or photon energy and on the target parameters. The results show that an electron‐induced cascade is systematically larger than a photon‐induced cascade. Moreover, in contrast with the common assumption, the maximal cascade size does not necessarily coincide with the electron range. It was found that the cascade size can be controlled by careful selection of the photon energy for a particular material. Photon energy, just above an ionization potential, can essentially split the absorbed energy between two electrons (photo‐ and Auger), reducing their initial energy and thus shrinking the cascade size. This analysis suggests a way of tailoring the electron cascades for applications requiring either small cascades with a high density of excited electrons or large‐spread cascades with lower electron densities.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Studying electron‐ and X‐ray‐induced electron cascades in solids is essential for various research areas at free‐electron laser facilities, such as X‐ray imaging, crystallography, pulse diagnostics or X‐ray‐induced damage. To better understand the fundamental factors that define the duration and spatial size of such cascades, this work investigates the electron propagation in ten solids relevant for the applications of X‐ray lasers. Using classical Monte Carlo simulation in the atomic approximation, the dependence of the cascade size on the incident electron or photon energy and on the target parameters is studied.〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" xml:lang="en"〉〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:16005775:jsy2gb5123:jsy2gb5123-fig-0001"〉 〈/graphic〉〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: The PERCIVAL detector is a CMOS imager designed for the soft X‐ray regime at photon sources. Although still in its final development phase, it has recently seen its first user experiments: ptychography at a free‐electron laser, holographic imaging at a storage ring and preliminary tests on X‐ray photon correlation spectroscopy. The detector performed remarkably well in terms of spatial resolution achievable in the sample plane, owing to its small pixel size, large active area and very large dynamic range; but also in terms of its frame rate, which is significantly faster than traditional CCDs. In particular, it is the combination of these features which makes PERCIVAL an attractive option for soft X‐ray science.

Description: The challenges facing European regions undergoing structural transformations as they transition towards sustainable development pathways have attracted increasing interest in recent years. Straddling the border between Germany and Poland, Lusatia is experiencing considerable transformation pressure. Various domestic and European funding programmes, for example under the umbrella of the European Green Deal, are intended to cushion the impacts of the phase-out or reduction of coal-fired power generation. The recently adopted EU Just Transition Mechanism aims to support sustainable structural transformations and the broader goal of achieving climate neutrality by mitigating impacts on the workforce and contributing to the diversification of economies in the most affected areas. Funds made available through this mechanism should be deployed in consultation with regional stakeholders in Lusatia to complement national support measures. Further funding programmes are available targeting various policy areas and could be harnessed to strengthen integration throughout the region. Funding programmes that are centrally managed by the European Commission (i.e. not under shared management with national governments) are of particular interest in this context. Closer political and economic cooperation, coupled with a deeper exchange of experience, can accelerate regional integration and guide processes of structural transformation towards sustainable outcomes. However, there are some practical hurdles to overcome in border regions. The primary objectives in using available EU funding are to mitigate the social impacts of processes of structural transformation and to deliver a just transition at all levels. Measures funded through these programmes should be aligned with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and contribute to the goal of achieving climate neutrality.

Description: This report was prepared as part of the STRONG High Seas project, based on a series of stakeholder surveys and experience gathered through various workshops held in the Southeast Pacific region, as well as on literature surveys and expert opinion. The report was reviewed by experts to validate findings and ensure robust content. This report is part of a series of reports covering issues of ocean governance with a focus on the ABNJ of the Southeast Pacific and the Southeast Atlantic regions and builds on previous reports published by the STRONG High Seas project. Further project reports cover the legal and institutional framework applicable to ABNJ, the ecological state and the socioeconomic importance of ABNJ in the project regions, options for management and conservation measures for conservation of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, and considerations for integrated ocean management. These reports are available through the STRONG High Seas project website. Following this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 provides relevant context with regards to ocean governance in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the ongoing negotiations towards a new agreement under UNCLOS and related capacity development needs and approaches. Chapter 3 presents a short summary of the surveys undertaken by the STRONG High Seas project with regards to capacity needs in the Southeast Pacific region and Chapter 4 is a summary of the corresponding capacity development efforts undertaken as part of the STRONG High Seas project. Chapter 5 provides reflections and recommendations for future capacity development activities beyond the scope of the project and highlights lessons learned through the five years of this project. Additional background information is provided in the Annexes.

Description: Local cooperation between civil society and the public sector is becoming increasingly important – in local transformation projects, in science, and occasionally in politics and administration. Commons-Public Partnerships (CPPs) provide a way to frame, promote and extend this collaboration. In civil society, CPPs are typically defined by the practice of commoning, where local communities exercise self-regulation based on the principles of community welfare and the common good. This discussion paper examines the theory and practice of commoning and other forms of cooperation. While focusing on the challenges of social-ecological transformation, the paper also identifies areas where CPPs can be implemented and highlights fields of tension exposed by the concept.

Description: Measures to support conservation efforts must put the protection of biodiversity and/or ecological integrity as the primary objective and consider cumulative pressures on the marine environment. This also means including ecological connectivity (e.g., migratory routes of marine species, transboundary impacts of human activities), and climate change impacts in their design and implementation. Moreover, the complexity and dynamic nature of the ocean, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), requires that conservation efforts acknowledge uncertainty, include options to address it or adapt swiftly to new scientific information, and consider the three-dimensional space of the ocean. This also requires that the best available interdisciplinary scientific and indigenous knowledge provide the basis for the design and implementation of such measures. It will be essential that measures to support conservation efforts apply mechanisms for cross-sectoral consultation, cooperation, and collaboration, as well as consider appropriate spatial and temporal scales for implementation. They must reflect broad societal goals and consider uneven distribution of socio-economic outcomes resulting from exploitative activities in ABNJ. Governance and management actions must recognise coupled and diverse social-ecological systems, and the interconnection between ocean health and human wellbeing, including diverse stakeholder considerations in the design and implementation of the measure or approach. It is essential that the design and implementation of measures to support conservation efforts include appropriate means to ensure the regular monitoring, control, and surveillance of human activities as well as the compliance and enforcement of the laws and regulations in place. States are familiar with legal instruments, such as those under the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conventions, International Seabed Authority (ISA), and management measures adopted by the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). They have developed governance structures and capacity to support their implementation. The recommendation in this context would be for States to support the consolidation and further development of measures to support conservation efforts with the aim to ensure that they integrate their approach with considerations for ecological connectivity, biodiversity protection, ecosystem-based integrated ocean management and climate change implications for the conservation and management of biodiversity in ABNJ. To be effective, any measures to support conservation efforts proposed for ABNJ in the Southeast Atlantic region must consider the socio-economic and political realities of the countries whose Exclusive Economic Zones border these areas. In this sense, it is important to note the important role that the fishing sector has historically played and continues to play for most economies of this region. The proposed Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Instrument in negotiation at the United Nations, will be fundamental for establishing the legal basis for developing and implementing cross-sectoral measures to support conservation efforts in ABNJ. The way in which the proposed BBNJ Instrument is integrated and how the link to existing conservation and sustainable use measures established under existing management organisations is made will determine the effectiveness of the possible measures to support current and future conservation efforts. In this regard, it is particularly important for the Southeast Atlantic region how existing RFMOs will be able to interact with the proposed BBNJ Instrument. Considering the capacity (technological, experience, financial, logistical) challenges of many of the countries in the Southeast Atlantic, it is important that measures to support conservation efforts under existing international treaties or legal mechanisms be integrated, practical, and cost-effective. The different legal status of the water column and the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction and the different legal provisions in place represent a challenge for the development of a coherent, comprehensive, and integrated approach to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in ABNJ. Lack of uniformity in compliance among flag States and the lack of monitoring and enforcement mechanisms in ABNJ jeopardise the achievement of an integrated approach for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in these vast areas of ocean. The wide array of existing instruments can be used to improve conservation of biodiversity in ABNJ through improved monitoring and enforced compliance. This remains the responsibility of individual flag States, but at present there is limited reporting of vessels and minimum follow up action by flag or port States.

Description: In April 2021, under the “IMPACT R” project, IASS Potsdam and HEDERA Sustainable Solutions GmbH in Berlin, together with University of Rwanda and Sustainable Villages Foundation (SVF), conducted a household survey in two villages in Rwanda. SVF has started an integrated village development pilot project in those two villages and wanted to better understand the local populations’ needs and establish a baseline for impact measurement, in order to track the project’s progress over time. In parallel, focus group discussions and key stakeholder interviews were carried out. The main results are as follows: Over 80 % of households get their main income from agriculture, largely on small plots. Two-thirds of the households have USD 45 or less to spend on a 5-person family, on average. There is no public electricity grid. Half of the households have access to very basic electricity through solar systems; the other half has none at all. Over 90 % of households use wood and open fire pits or handmade clay stoves for cooking, mostly indoors, causing deforestation and health problems because of the smoke. There is no public or private drinking water supply. Villagers collect rainwater and/or surface water, which has to be carried over several kilometers by adults and children. The water is dirty and not treated before drinking in one-third of households, which triggers diseases. Only 26 % of households are classified as food-secure, whereas 15.5 % are above the severe food insecurity threshold. A significant percentage of the inhabitants does not eat a balanced diet due to lack of resources. The local community especially emphasized the need for: Priority 1: Safe drinking water Priority 2: Electricity Priority 3: Clean cooking devices Another severe challenge is poverty in general. There is a shortage of food in terms of quantity and quality for a significant portion of the population. This is caused by households’ limited financial capacity and insufficient agricultural yield due to the absence of water for irrigation and inefficient agricultural techniques. Furthermore, teacher qualification in English and information technology (IT) is not satisfactory, and the primary school has no electricity in most of the classrooms and no computers. Professional training options are only offered far away from the villages and are very costly. New business development is hindered by the lack of electricity. The target communities seek for support to address all the above challenges and are willing to contribute their part.

Description: Deep-seabed mining in the Area is regulated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) which is mandated to act on behalf of humankind as a whole. Consistent with international environmental law and human rights norms, in its decision making the ISA is expected to engage with its broad constituency. Using ten assessment criteria, this paper analyses the extent to which the ISA has facilitated public participation to date. This paper finds that, while the ISA has increased outreach activities, significant scope for improvement remains. Several ways to improve public participation at the ISA are identified, including (1) proactive consultation with a wider reach, including stakeholders that are hitherto not engaged; (2) mechanisms to ensure stakeholder consultations and submissions are given due consideration, and that the rationale for decisions are publicly communicated; and (3) enhanced public engagement in the implementation of decisions.

Description: The high volume of plastic packaging currently consumed in Germany poses a complex socio-ecological risk. As part of the BMBF-funded ENSURE research consortium, environmental psychologists at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam have studied various policy options to promote a reduction in individual consumption of plastic food packaging. A representative nationwide survey of 1,200 persons conducted by the researchers shows that 92 per cent of the interviewed consumers consider plastic waste in the environment a threat to the preservation of our natural resources and the foundations of life. Despite this widespread awareness, the consumption of plastic packaging continues to grow: In 2018, Germany generated over three million tonnes of plastic packaging waste; more than double the amount produced in 1997. The findings of the ENSURE project indicate that consumers are willing and indeed wish to reduce their consumption of plastic packaging; however, they are hindered by personal and structural barriers. Political action is needed to break down these barriers to change and support consumers in their efforts. This IASS Policy Brief presents three strategic policy recommendations that could help reduce the consumption of packaging in daily life. Following an outline of the broader context and key issues, these three recommendations are explained in detail. In conclusion, we highlight the need for a systemic approach to the reduction of plastic packaging.

Description: This report aims to showcase and assess the participative multi-stakeholder approach used in the STRONG High Seas project to co-develop and co-design activities and outputs such as scientific assessments and capacity development programs. In particular, the report provides reflections from the project team on the numerous lessons learned during the project duration on participative multi-stakeholder approaches in transdisciplinary ocean governance research, such as designing and implementing effective engagement strategies, designing targeted capacity development programmes, and fostering co-creative research processes for supporting decision-making and achieving policy impact. The reflections on and recommendations for participative multi-stakeholder approaches within transdisciplinary ocean governance research gained through the course of the STRONG High Seas project can be found in Chapter 3.

Description: This COBENEFITS report gives an overview of enabling policies that have high potential to make fair use of the maximum potential of co-benefit opportunities that can be unlocked by following the pathway of a high share of renewable energies in the power sector. They are presented according to the different COBENEFITS categories. Enabling policies for renewable energy (RE) cobenefits and their specification and implementation are highly context-specific. They need to take into account the context of the country or region they are planned for, and need to be tailored to remove specific barriers preventing communities from unlocking them. Therefore, each enabling policy option presented in this report is accompanied by a short summary of an initial situation that they might solve or improve.

Description: In the last years, the concept of tipping points received increasing recognition in social science and rose on the political agenda. Identifying tipping points would allow researchers to identify the point in time in which a transition happens, and to understand the processes of overcoming lock-in mechanisms and trigger deliberate tipping an existing system into a qualitatively new state. Because tipping points bring about rapid systemic change, it is desirable to further understand how tipping points may be triggered to accelerate the transformation of social and economic systems. There is little doubt that tipping points exist in both social and socio-technical systems because we can observe that systems and societies are fundamentally different today than they were in the past. However, despite a growing body of literature, there remain many open questions how to conceptualise and ultimately operationalize social tipping points. This also stems from a lack of empirical studies and insights observing tipping points in social contexts. In the Tipping.Plus project we addressed this gap with a literature review and empirical case studies investigating tipping dynamics from a public policy and governance perspective. In the literature review we explored definitions, characteristics, and the application of the concept and notion of tipping points in political and governance theories and contexts. In the second step, we conducted an empirical study investigating the socio-economic transition processes of the two German neigbouring cities Essen and Duisburg, which have both phased out their coal industries, as part of the wider structural change in the Ruhr Region. We focused on (political) interventions and their effects on the cities’ development trajectories in the last 30+ years to identify differences in outcome as a function of policy interventions and/or contextual differences. Apart from identifying the key development drivers, we investigate whether either city crossed a tipping point in their transition process (yet), away from coal towards a low carbon but still prosperous future (Mey and Lilliestam 2022). In the following we synthesise the findings of this work and our observations and experiences in order to contribute to the overall Tipping.Plus Integration Framework and Social Theory on social tipping points in energy transitions.

Description: Research undertaken in Task 2.2 identified a range of governance challenges to ocean-based NETs related to the global ocean governance framework, e.g., linked to the transboundary nature of the ocean, potential effects of ocean-based NETs on the ocean’s condition and marine ecosystem services, as well as the many unknowns and uncertainties linked to NET-deployment. The fragmented approaches and frameworks in place to govern the global ocean further complicate comprehensive governance of these emerging technologies. This deliverable presents results from a workshop that explored how ocean-based NETs should be governed to best confront these challenges and integrate international climate targets as well as global goals for ocean and biodiversity conservation, in addition to global ambitions towards sustainable development. The workshop is part of research undertaken by Task 2.2 to assess how ocean-based NETs are addressed by the current global ocean governance framework and develop governance scenarios and recommendations to policy makers for a “good governance” of NETs in the ocean.

Description: Die Arktis erwärmt sich substanziell schneller als der globale Durchschnitt. Der rasche Temperatur-anstieg verändert die Arktis bereits tiefgreifend - und wird dies auch weiterhin tun - mit noch unbekannten Folgen für die Region und die ganze Welt. Gleichzeitig mit dem Rückgang des Meereises und der sich verändernden Verteilung der lebenden Meeresressourcen hat eine Zunahme des wirtschaftlichen Interesses an der Region zu Bedenken hinsichtlich der Nachhaltigkeit der wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten in der Arktis geführt. Um Wege zu finden, wie der Schutz und die nachhaltige Nutzung der arktischen Meeresumwelt gewährleistet werden können, ist ein umfassendes Verständnis der Meeresumwelt, der sie beeinflussen-den Belastungen und der relevanten Regulierungen und Managementmaßnahmen erforderlich. DasEcologic Institut und das Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies haben sich zum Ziel gesetzt, durch eine Reihe von Berichten zum Meeresschutz in der Arktis einen Überblick über die relevantenInformationen zu geben. Die Berichte konzentrieren sich auf die fünf arktischen Anrainerstaaten: Ka-nada, Dänemark (durch Grönland), Norwegen, die Russische Föderation und die Vereinigten Staaten.Darüber hinaus gibt ein regionaler Bericht einen umfassenden Überblick und fasst die einschlägigen internationalen und regionalen Vorschriften zusammen. Der vorliegende Bericht behandelt die für den Meeresschutz in der russischen Arktis relevanten Informationen. Der Bericht deckt vier Hauptthemen ab: Er beginnt mit der Beschreibung der wichtigstenMerkmale der Meeresumwelt der russischen Arktis. Anschließend werden wesentlichen Belastungen untersucht, die sich auf die marine Biodiversität in der Region auswirken, gefolgt von einer Untersuchung der soziokulturellen und wirtschaftlichen Rolle sowie der Umweltauswirkungen der wichtigsten meeresbezogenen menschlichen Aktivitäten in der russischen Arktis. Der letzte Teil des Berichts gibt einen Überblick über die relevanten nationalen Institutionen sowie über Regulierungen, Vorschriften und Instrumente, die zum Schutz der russischen arktischen Meeresbiodiversität und zur Gewährleistung ihrer nachhaltigen Nutzung eingesetzt werden oder eingesetzt werden könnten. Hinweis: Die in diesem Bericht präsentierten Informationen wurden hauptsächlich während der weltweiten Covid-19-Pandemie und vor dem russischen Einmarsch in die Ukraine im Jahr 2022 zusammengetragen. Die (weiteren) politischen und wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen dieser Ereignisse und dies ich daraus ergebenden Veränderungen in der Arktis-Governance sind zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt nichtabsehbar, und es ist zu erwarten, dass sich einige der in diesem Bericht dargestellten Entwicklungen und Trends erheblich ändern werden. Die Kernbotschaften des Berichts finden sich unter der folgenden englischen Zusammenfassung.

Description: Global interest and activity in the Arctic have increased greatly in recent decades. The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average. These rapidly increasing temperatures are already profoundly changing – and will continue to change – the Arctic, with yet unknown consequences for the people, environment, and economy in the region as well as worldwide (SDWG, 2021). The diminishing sea ice extent and the changing distribution of marine living resources have led to an increase in economic interest in the region as well as concerns about the sustainability of economic activities in the Arctic (Raspotnik et al., 2021). The challenge now is to identify development pathways that can ensure the sustainable use and conservation of the Arctic marine environment (SDWG, 2021). In order to identify ways in which conservation and sustainable use of the Arctic marine environment can be ensured, a broad understanding of the marine environment, the pressures affecting it, and the relevant regulations is needed. Ecologic Institute and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies aim to provide an overview of relevant information through a series of reports on marine conservation in the Arctic. The reports focus on the five Arctic coastal states: Canada, Denmark (by virtue of Greenland), Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States. In addition, a regional report is providing a broader overview and summarises relevant international and regional regulations. The reports were published in 2022 and are available for download on the websites of the Ecologic Institute and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies. This current report presents an overview of information relevant to marine conservation in the Russian Arctic. The report covers four main issues: it starts with the description of the key characteristics of the Russian Arctic marine environment. Then it examines significant pressures impacting marine biodiversity in the region, followed by exploring the socio-cultural and economic role as well as the environmental impact of the main sea-based human activities in the Russian Arctic. The last part of the report describes the Russian ocean governance system and provides an overview of relevant national institutions as well as rules, regulations and tools which are, or could be, employed to protect marine biodiversity in this region and ensure its sustainable use. NB: The information presented in this report was mainly collated during the global Covid-19 pandemic and prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The (further) political and economic impacts of these events and resulting changes in Arctic governance cannot be foreseen at this point in time and it can be expected that some of the developments and trends presented in this report may change substantially.

Description: Jordan’s energy transition has been rapid and ambitious: in 2021 renewables accounted for 26 % of electricity production in Jordan, up from less than 1 % in 2014. This massive leap forward was prompted by energy security concerns in the wake of the Arab Spring that forced the government to scramble for alternatives to Egyptian gas. Today, Jordan is a regional clean energy industry frontrunner, with over 300 PV companies and around 13 000 employees in the sector. However, recent policy decisions have stalled further progress. Auctions for new projects have been scaled back or postponed, and new ventures in excess of 1 MW were indefinitely suspended in January 2019. At the same time, changes to electricity tariff structures have dampened demand for residential PV. This loss of momentum is largely due to financial constraints on Jordan’s state-owned National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), which is caught in long-term purchasing agreements for fossil fuels that conflict with the goal of growing Jordan’s renewable energy sector and are exacerbating NEPCO’s already significant debt burden. With 20 % of public debt linked to the electricity sector, this also has ripple effects for the rest of the Jordanian economy. Increased regional cooperation will be needed to re-negotiate Jordan’s commitments to purchase fossil fuels and to expand the regional market for renewable energy, allowing Jordan to export surplus electricity and establish itself as a clean energy hub while at the same time giving neighbours the chance to sell energy elsewhere and increasing regional stability. And while Jordan’s top-down approach to energy policy was crucial to driving the rapid growth of renewables, the current risk of stalling progress makes it clear that stakeholders from different ministries as well as industry and civil society must be involved in future policy development processes to accelerate Jordan’s energy transition and shift the country from the current single-buyer model towards a more competitive market for electricity.

Description: Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) or CO2 utilization technologies attract researchers, policy makers, and industry actors in search of sustainable solutions for industrial processes. This increasing interest can be explained by the fact that these processes comprise the capturing of CO2 – the most relevant greenhouse gas (GHG) – from the air or industrial point sources, and promote its use as a feedstock for the production of goods. CCU processes are expected to contribute to the greenhouse gas neutrality targets of several industrial sectors and the development of a circular economy. Therefore, understanding the environmental impacts and economics of CO2 utilization routes is essential for decision makers from relevant fields, such as technology developers, entrepreneurs, funding agencies, policy makers, administrators and more. A deep understanding of the specific implications of CO2 utilization technologies is needed to make decisions in line with sustainability strategies, and to discard inappropriate solutions. The ‘Techno-Economic Assessment & Life Cycle Assessment Guidelines for CO2 Utilization’1 (henceforth TEA and LCA Guidelines) published by the Global CO2 Initiative (GCI) in October 2018, represent a milestone in the harmonization of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA) for evaluating CCU technologies. Henceforth, we refer to this document as TEA and LCA Guidelines. The TEA and LCA Guidelines provide a guide to overcoming methodological discrepancies that lead to confusion among practitioners, concerning how to conduct assessments, and which often lead to contradictory results.2 3 Documents with a similar focus have also been published by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).4 The success of the GCI publication and the demand for such guidelines is evidenced by the strong response that the authors registered in the months following its publication: more than 2,000 copies of the TEA and LCA Guidelines have been distributed in digital form or hard copy, and a growing community of practitioners, and decision makers from science, industry, and public administration are learning how to generate robust and comparable assessments when evaluating CCU technologies. In addition to the guidelines and the present report, the same research group has recently released five illustrative worked examples5 to support the application of the TEA and LCA Guidelines, and three accompanying peer-reviewed articles.6 At the same time, policy officers at national and international levels have frequently signaled the urgency of further developing these tools, to enable evaluation of innovative technologies as a basis for decision making in funding and policy design (e.g., the EU Innovation Fund). Despite the urgent need to address planetary climate change, the development and diffusion of new technologies often takes considerable time. Consequently, leveraging the current momentum amongst all involved actors that CCU has achieved to date is paramount and is an opportunity that must not be missed. Despite demands for aligned assessment methods from the industrial and policy spheres,7 there are evident challenges in dealing with the practical application of such methods in commissioning, reading, and interpreting LCA and TEA studies. There is also a risk of insufficient transfer into policy or other decision-making processes, in cases where the involved actors do not possess disciplinary expertise in the relevant methodology.

Description: This study is part of my research project on "Subnational Climate Governance Policies in the Brazilian Amazon – challenges and opportunities of cross border transformative co-creation", carried out at the IASS Potsdam. To acess my article, access https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en/output/publications/2021/subnational-climate-policiesbrazils- legal-amazon-glance.

Description: In this paper, we investigate the socio-economic transition processes of Essen and Duisburg as part of the wider structural change in the Ruhr Region. In the two case studies, we explore causes and effects of the cities’ development trajectories in the last 30+ years, seeking to identify differences in outcome as a function of the interventions and/or contextual differences. We analyse events, interventions and their impacts on the social and economic systems of the two cities across time. Apart from identifying the key development drivers, we investigate whether either city crossed a tipping point in their transition process (yet), away from coal towards a low-carbon but still prosperous future. Therefore, we specifically evaluate the cities’ development trajectories by seeking evidence for “no”, “incremental” or “radical” changes in a set of indicators. Here, we have taken a long temporal perspective, because trajectories of and trajectory changes in social systems are specifically visible in demographic dynamics, economic structures and political arrangements across time.

Description: Die Arktis erwärmt sich substanziell schneller als der globale Durchschnitt. Der rasche Temperatur-anstieg verändert die Arktis bereits tiefgreifend - und wird dies auch weiterhin tun - mit noch unbekannten Folgen für die Region und die ganze Welt. Gleichzeitig mit dem Rückgang des Meereises und der sich verändernden Verteilung der lebenden Meeresressourcen hat eine Zunahme des wirtschaftlichen Interesses an der Region zu Bedenken hinsichtlich der Nachhaltigkeit der wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten in der Arktis geführt. Um Wege zu finden, wie der Schutz und die nachhaltige Nutzung der arktischen Meeresumwelt gewährleistet werden können, ist ein umfassendes Verständnis der Meeresumwelt, der sie beeinflussenden Belastungen und der relevanten Regulierungen und Managementmaßnahmen erforderlich. DasEcologic Institut und das Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies haben sich zum Ziel gesetzt, durch eine Reihe von Berichten zum Meeresschutz in der Arktis einen Überblick über die relevantenInformationen zu geben. Die Berichte konzentrieren sich auf die fünf arktischen Anrainerstaaten: Kanada, Dänemark (durch Grönland), Norwegen, die Russische Föderation und die Vereinigten Staaten.Darüber hinaus gibt ein regionaler Bericht einen umfassenden Überblick und fasst die einschlägigen internationalen und regionalen Vorschriften zusammen. Der vorliegende Bericht gibt einen Überblick über Informationen, die für den Meeresschutz in der Arktis relevant sind. Der Bericht deckt vier Hauptthemen ab: Er beginnt mit der Beschreibung der wichtigsten Merkmale der arktischen Meeresumwelt. Anschließend werden wesentliche Belastungen untersucht, die sich auf die marine Biodiversität in der Region auswirken, gefolgt von einer Untersuchung der soziokulturellen und wirtschaftlichen Rolle sowie der Umweltauswirkungen der wichtigsten meeresbezogenen menschlichen Aktivitäten in der Arktis. Der letzte Teil des Berichts gibt einen Überblick über die relevanten internationalen und regionalen Vereinbarungen und Rahmenwerke sowie über Regulierungen, Vorschriften und Instrumente, die zum Schutz der arktischen Meeresbiodiversität und zur Gewährleistung ihrer nachhaltigen Nutzung eingesetzt werden oder eingesetzt werden könnten. Hinweis: Die in diesem Bericht präsentierten Informationen wurden hauptsächlich während der weltweiten Covid-19-Pandemie und vor dem russischen Einmarsch in die Ukraine im Jahr 2022 zusammengetragen. Die (weiteren) politischen und wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen dieser Ereignisse und dies ich daraus ergebenden Veränderungen in der Arktis-Governance sind zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt nichtabsehbar, und es ist zu erwarten, dass sich einige der in diesem Bericht dargestellten Entwicklungen und Trends erheblich ändern werden. Die Kernbotschaften des Berichts finden sich unter der folgenden englischen Zusammenfassung.

Description: The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average. These rapidly increasing temperatures are already profoundly changing the Arctic – and will continue to do so – with yet unknown consequences for the region as well as worldwide. The diminishing sea ice extent and the changing distribution of marine living resources have led to an increase in economic interest in the region as well as concerns about the sustainability of economic activities in the Arctic. In order to identify ways in which conservation and sustainable use of the Arctic marine environment can be ensured, a broad understanding of the marine environment, the pressures affecting it, and the relevant regulations is needed. Ecologic Institute and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies aim to provide an overview of relevant information through a series of reports on marine conservation in the Arctic. The reports focus on the five Arctic coastal states: Canada, Denmark (by virtue of Green-land), Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States. In addition, a regional report is providing a broader overview and summarises relevant international and regional regulations. This current report presents an overview of information relevant to marine conservation in the Arctic.The report covers four main issues: it starts with the description of the key characteristics of the Arctic marine environment. Then it examines significant pressures impacting marine biodiversity in the region, followed by exploring the socio-cultural and economic role as well as the environmental impact of the main sea-based human activities in the Arctic. The last part of the report provides an overview of relevant international and regional agreements and frameworks as well as rules, regulations and tools which are, or could be, employed to protect the Arctic marine biodiversity and ensure its sustain-able use. NB: The information presented in this report was mainly collated during the global Covid-19 pandemic and prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The (further) political and economic impacts oft hese events and resulting changes in Arctic governance cannot be foreseen at this point in time and it can be expected that some of the developments and trends presented in this report may change substantially.

Description: Die Arktis erwärmt sich substanziell schneller als der globale Durchschnitt. Der rasche Temperaturanstieg verändert die Arktis bereits tiefgreifend - und wird dies auch weiterhin tun - mit noch unbekannten Folgen für die Region und die ganze Welt. Gleichzeitig mit dem Rückgang des Meereises und der sich verändernden Verteilung der lebenden Meeresressourcen hat eine Zunahme des wirtschaftlichen Interesses an der Region zu Bedenken hinsichtlich der Nachhaltigkeit der wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten in der Arktis geführt. Um Wege zu finden, wie der Schutz und die nachhaltige Nutzung der arktischen Meeresumwelt gewährleistet werden können, ist ein umfassendes Verständnis der Meeresumwelt, der sie beeinflussenden Belastungen und der relevanten Regulierungen und Managementmaßnahmen erforderlich. Das Ecologic Institut und das Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies haben sich zum Ziel gesetzt, durch eine Reihe von Berichten zum Meeresschutz in der Arktis einen Überblick über die relevanten Informationen zu geben. Die Berichte konzentrieren sich auf die fünf arktischen Anrainerstaaten: Kanada, Dänemark (durch Grönland), Norwegen, die Russische Föderation und die Vereinigten Staaten. Darüber hinaus gibt ein regionaler Bericht einen umfassenden Überblick und fasst die einschlägigen internationalen und regionalen Vorschriften zusammen. Der vorliegende Bericht gibt einen Überblick über Informationen, die für den Meeresschutz in der Arktis relevant sind. Der Bericht deckt vier Hauptthemen ab: Er beginnt mit der Beschreibung der wichtigsten Merkmale der arktischen Meeresumwelt. Anschließend werden wesentliche Belastungen untersucht, die sich auf die marine Biodiversität in der Region auswirken, gefolgt von einer Untersuchung der soziokulturellen und wirtschaftlichen Rolle sowie der Umweltauswirkungen der wichtigsten meeresbezogenen menschlichen Aktivitäten in der Arktis. Der letzte Teil des Berichts gibt einen Überblick über die relevanten internationalen und regionalen Vereinbarungen und Rahmenwerke sowie über Regulierungen, Vorschriften und Instrumente, die zum Schutz der arktischen Meeresbiodiversität und zur Gewährleistung ihrer nachhaltigen Nutzung eingesetzt werden oder eingesetzt werden könnten. Hinweis: Die in diesem Bericht präsentierten Informationen wurden hauptsächlich während der weltweiten Covid-19-Pandemie und vor dem russischen Einmarsch in die Ukraine im Jahr 2022 zusammengetragen. Die (weiteren) politischen und wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen dieser Ereignisse und dies ich daraus ergebenden Veränderungen in der Arktis-Governance sind zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt nichtabsehbar, und es ist zu erwarten, dass sich einige der in diesem Bericht dargestellten Entwicklungen und Trends erheblich ändern werden. Die Kernbotschaften des Berichts finden sich unter der folgenden englischen Zusammenfassung.

Description: The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average. These rapidly increasing temperatures are already profoundly changing the Arctic – and will continue to do so – with yet unknown consequences for the region as well as worldwide. The diminishing sea ice extent and the changing distribution of marine living resources have led to an increase in economic interest in the region as well as concerns about the sustainability of economic activities in the Arctic. In order to identify ways in which conservation and sustainable use of the Arctic marine environment can be ensured, a broad understanding of the marine environment, the pressures affecting it, and the relevant regulations is needed. Ecologic Institute and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies aim to provide an overview of relevant information through a series of reports on marine conservation in the Arctic. The reports focus on the five Arctic coastal states: Canada, Denmark (by virtue of Greenland), Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States. In addition, a regional report is providing a broader overview and summarises relevant international and regional regulations. This current report presents an overview of information relevant to marine conservation in Greenland.The report covers four main issues: it starts with the description of the key characteristics of the Greenlandic marine environment. Then it examines significant pressures impacting marine biodiversity in the region, followed by exploring the socio-cultural and economic role as well as the environmental impact of the main sea-based human activities in Greenland. The last part of the report describes the Greenlandic ocean governance system and provides an overview of relevant national institutions as well as rules, regulations and tools which are, or could be, employed to protect the Greenlandic marine biodiversity and ensure its sustainable use. NB: The information presented in this report was mainly collated during the global Covid-19 pandemic and prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The (further) political and economic impacts oft hese events and resulting changes in Arctic governance cannot be foreseen at this point in time and it can be expected that some of the developments and trends presented in this report may change substantially.

Description: Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) employ randomly selected groups of citizens, who work together to develop recommendations on specific issues. In democratic practice, DMPs, which include Citizens’ Assemblies, Citizens’ Councils, Deliberative Panels, Citizens’ Jury, etc., are usually called into action by policymakers to complement representative decision-making. The following describes how DMPs work, why they are used, and what determines their success.

Description: Kenya is a climate and renewable energy frontrunner in the sub-Saharan region. The country is committed to decarbonisation and currently aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32 % by 2030, relative to the business-as-usual scenario. Kenya has rapidly increased electrification access over the last decade thanks to a strong on- and off-grid renewable energy sector. Electricity from renewable sources covered 88 % of total domestic demand in 2020. The bulk of this is generated using geothermal energy, followed by hydro and wind power. These are complemented by a growing solar PV sector. Despite this laudable progress and the introduction of policies to foster renewables, the energy sector still faces significant challenges, including a lack of universal access, affordability issues and limitations in the transmission and distribution network. These circumstances result in a capacity surplus of generated electricity that cannot be absorbed by demand. Recent discoveries of oil and gas reserves risk derailing efforts to decarbonise the energy sector unless the Kenyan government strengthens its current course. This policy brief identifies three key areas for action to enhance energy security and continue on a sustainable energy path: Recommendation 1: Improve the quality of the grid Kenya should bolster its digitalisation efforts, support the adoption of new technologies, invest in research to reduce inefficiencies, foster regional integration to increase connectivity, and implement demand scheduling mechanisms to harness the advantages of different energy sources. These efforts should be flanked by an update of the national grid code. Recommendation 2: Liberalise the electricity market The procurement process needs to remain competitive and based on least cost criteria. Net metering programmes and renewables auctions should be implemented in order to attract more players and investment. Improved regulations about public-private partnerships and power purchase agreements will be needed to remove bottlenecks for market entry and establish an equal playing field. These measures should be accompanied by open consultations to ensure public participation and improve the investment climate. Recommendation 3: Promote decentralised energy supply options Decentralised renewable energy generation should be promoted to ensure that off-grid consumers can access affordable, reliable, and secure energy. Kenya should enhance sustainable financing structures and improve tax incentives for technology development and distribution of decentralised energy options. Capacity building efforts should target local communities, domestic companies, and government agencies to facilitate the maintenance and administration of off-grid systems and increase their sustainability.

Description: Integrated ocean management (IOM) is an adaptive approach to managing human activities in the ocean, which is rooted in the ecosystem approach. It requires all dimensions of ocean space to be considered – physical, oceanographic, climatic, biological, social, economic spheres – and includes spatial and temporal dynamics of the system. It aims to create a framework for a sustainable ocean economy. To achieve this ambitious aim, management processes need to be integrated across governance, stakeholders, knowledge, system-dynamics, and be trans- boundary, which will form the ‘pillars’ for effective integration. Key features of the proposed integrated approach to ocean management call for enhanced collaboration, knowledge sharing, transparency, coordination, and communication. Community views and values, and scientific, traditional, and local knowledge play key roles in defining the design and operationalization of the above-mentioned pillars. The IOM approach has yet to be applied to ABNJ but is commonly applied to coastal waters. IOM will be increasingly important in ABNJ for addressing the rising challenges of achieving conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. This report therefore aims to provide an overview on the application of IOM in the context of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, particularly within the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific regions. It particularly aims at promoting IOM for ABNJ across sectors and ecological dimensions by considering the application of enabling conditions to achieve cooperation and collaboration between the various actors working in or affecting ABNJ. This report summarises the current challenges facing management of ABNJ, identifies opportunities to implement IOM across boundaries and provides recommendations for moving forward on this urgent priority, guided by the Sustainable Development Goals. Addressing IOM in ABNJ is particularly relevant at this point in time as States are negotiating a new legally binding instrument for the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ (referred to in this report as the BBNJ Agreement). Therefore, an opportunity exists for States to embed provisions that will allow IOM to be fully operational in the framework of the BBNJ Agreement upon its adoption and ratification. This report covers the concepts of IOM, its pillars, the importance of IOM for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ and the opportunities for strengthening IOM for BBNJ conservation in both STRONG High Seas project focal regions: the Southeast Atlantic and the Southeast Pacific. After analysing opportunities in these two regions, this report highlights some clear pathways by which this integrated approach can significantly support the conservation of biodiversity in ABNJ. Selected recommendations from this report are included below. For a more thorough set of possible actions and decisions that could be adopted by a range of actors to improve IOM, see Table 2 in Chapter 3.

Description: This paper examines the recent interest in hydrogen energy among political and economic leaders in the oil and gas producing states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Although key stakeholders continue to reinforce the fossil fuel systems that have defined the region’s political economy for decades, they increasingly recognize that the hydrocarbon era is drawing to a close. This has led to an increase in various “post-oil” energy investments, which most recently include hydrogen energy. This discussion paper examines why this is the case – that is, why the GCC’s political and corporate leaders are keen on promoting hydrogen energy systems in the region. It shows that the aspiration to produce “green” hydrogen – originating in Europe and Germany in particular – is increasingly seen as a way to broadcast the region’s green credentials, while simultaneously supporting the investments in “blue” hydrogen promoted by the state-owned hydrocarbon giants in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Description: The STRONG High Seas project has published a guidance document to support the implementation of the international legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) that is being negotiated under the United Nations. This work is framed in the context of achieving spatial conservation measures but draws on examples from other biodiversity conservation efforts and offers guidance for achieving binding measures for any matter, in any regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO). Aspirations for achieving biodiversity conservation using enforceable, area-based management tools (ABMTs) in an RFMO will require dedicated action if they are to move from aspirations to actuality. Getting legally binding measures for areas beyond national jurisdiction approved and enforced in an RFMO is a complex, multi-stage process. The guidance document offers insights and strategic considerations on how to achieve biodiversity conservation outcomes in an RFMO and have such measures adopted (i.e. made legally binding). It is a distillation of personal experiences including successes, failures, and insights into some of the more arcane aspects of RFMOs’ functioning, derived from the authors’ participation in dozens of meetings at many RFMOs.

Description: This report - Study on Measures to Support Conservation Efforts in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in the Southeast Pacific Region - aims to provide recommendations for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the Southeast Pacific region. These recommendations include considerations for establishing new conservation and management measures and expanding or improving existing measures in the region, as well as the use of tools to support the development of conservation measures. This report has been prepared by STRONG High Seas project researchers based on a literature review of cademic articles, data analysis, stakeholder insights, and experiences gathered at expert workshops held in the project’s focus regions in 2021. The information presented here is intended to support decision-makers, including government officials, the private sector and other stakeholders working on ocean governance in ABNJ who are involved or have an interest in the ongoing development of the Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This report is part of a series of reports published by the STRONG High Seas project [Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance for the High Seas (June 2017 - May 2022)], covering aspects of ocean governance with a geographic focus on the Southeast Pacific (and Southeast Atlantic) region.

Description: Malaysia has set ambitious targets to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) in its energy mix. In 2021, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Malaysia (KeTSA) established an aspirational target for national installed RE capacity of 3 1% by 2025.1 This aspiration was recently reaffirmed by the National Energy Policy 2022 – 20402, which lays out a long-term plan for Malaysia’s green future. Although the country has abundant solar, biomass, and hydro resources for clean energy production, a number of barriers are slowing the energy transition. With its economy heavily reliant on fossil fuels, Malaysia risks a carbon lock-in that would perpetuate existing pathdependencies, infrastructure, technologies, institutions and behaviours that are embedded in and intertwined with the carbon economy. State revenues derive to a large extent from fossil fuels and previous reforms to support the growth of renewables have been hampered by the fact that the state is both responsible for shaping energy policy and is also the largest stakeholder in Malaysia’s highly centralised fossil-based energy system. Structural changes in both the energy system and decision-making processes are needed to support a timely transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Post-pandemic recovery packages and policy changes can lend critical momentum to this process if they are properly targeted. In this policy brief we identify three key opportunities for action to advance the Malaysian energy transition: Recommendation 1: Broaden the range of actors in the electricity sector Efforts to liberalise Malaysia’s highly concentrated electricity sector, increase competition, and improve market efficiency should be strengthened. Existing reform plans should be extended to the areas of transmission and distribution. Recommendation 2: Involve stakeholders in policy design processes The government should facilitate the participation of stakeholders in all stages of the policy process by formalising participation processes and establishing permanent, independent bodies to vet government decisions as well as regular forums for stakeholder dialogue. The decentralisation of decision processes should be promoted. Recommendation 3: Prioritise green growth in post-pandemic recovery programmes Recovery programmes should prioritise investment in sustainable energy infrastructure, clean technology industries, capacity-building, and research and development. Targeted social investment is needed to cushion the social impacts of decarbonisation and harness co-benefits.

Description: The STRONG High Seas project has published a Glossary of Ocean Governance Terms to provide decision-makers and other stakeholders, including the private sector, scientific communities, civil society, and traditional communities, with a reference lexicon on ocean governance related terms to facilitate understanding when engaging in negotiations and implementation of international and national policies and regulations. As in most areas of knowledge or activity, the field of ocean governance is associated with specialized terminology, or jargon. The use of specific terms is essential for clear communication, particularly among peers, but also to a wider audience. However, as one area becomes more specialized and consequently the use of jargons increases, the challenge for comprehensible communication also grows. A shared understanding of terms by stakeholders engaging in policy instruments is particularly critical. Texts of policy instruments and of decisions (or similar documents, such as Resolutions or measures) under these instruments are, in some cases, legally-binding, which makes States Parties generally abide by them. The same word could have different meaning to different audiences and at different times. Having a common understanding of a term will, therefore, ease communication and, ultimately, help decision-makers achieve agreement in a political context.

Description: The deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is accelerating across the globe, as prices continue to fall and countries begin their transition from fossil to renewable energy. Public auctions have become the dominant policy tool for solar PV deployment: 106 countries held renewable energy auctions (dominated by solar) by the end of 2018 (IRENA a, 2019). One third of the 55 countries that held renewable auctions in 2017 – 2018 did so for the first time (ibid.). Little solar-specific experience and capacity in newly adopting countries can result in technical failures and lower solar plant performance (IRENA 2017). For instance, it was reported that 30 percent of nearly 100 analysed projects in different countries indicate severe defects that impact performance (TÜV Rheinland 2015). This makes investment in solar plants in newcomer countries risky, hindering the development of the solar sector and undermining political targets of solar energy deployment in these countries. In this context, international organisations have suggested that policymakers in adopting countries include international quality standards1 as technical requirements in the design of public auctions. This policy brief outlines the potential benefits and challenges of doing so, highlighting the crucial role of the Quality Infrastructure (QI) system in newcomer countries. Key lessons learnt are synthesised from international experiences with technical requirements in solar PV auctions. On this basis, entry points are identified for the development of strategies for their introduction in newly adopting countries. The two key things policymakers should consider are the adoption of appropriate standards based on the specific country context and the implementation of real-time data monitoring.

Description: This report was prepared as part of the STRONG High Seas project, based on a series of stakeholder surveys and experience gathered through various workshops held in the Southeast Atlantic region, as well as on literature surveys and expert opinion. The report was reviewed by multiple experts to validate findings and ensure robust content. This report is part of a series of reports covering issues of ocean governance with a focus on the ABNJ of the Southeast Pacific and the Southeast Atlantic regions and builds on previous reports published by the STRONG High Seas project. Further project reports cover the legal and institutional framework applicable to ABNJ, the ecological state and the socioeconomic importance of ABNJ in the project regions, options for management and conservation measures for conservation of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, and considerations for integrated ocean management. These reports are available through the STRONG High Seas project website.

Description: This report contributes to the modelling work in SENTINEL and beyond in three main ways. First, we provide three social storylines that are closely linked to different governance logics and build on observed social and political drivers and barriers in the European energy transition. This is different than most other storylines used for modelling, because ours are based on governance patterns and normative assumptions of a “good future”, and not on the more commonly used geopolitical or techno-economic storyline assumptions. Second, we provide quantitative, empirical data for several important social/political parameters that can be used together with the storylines or as separate building blocks to answer specific research questions with energy models. Third, to test the usefulness of QTDIAN, we have soft-linked QTDIAN with the energy demand models DESSTINEE, HEB and DREEM, the energy system design model Euro-Calliope, and indirectly with the economic model WEGDYN. Based on feedback from the modelling exercises, we have revised QTDIAN and publish now this updated report 2.0 to improve its usefulness for a more realistic analysis of potential future energy systems.

Description: Die Arktis erwärmt sich substanziell schneller als der globale Durchschnitt. Der rasche Temperatur-anstieg verändert die Arktis bereits tiefgreifend - und wird dies auch weiterhin tun - mit noch unbekannten Folgen für die Region und die ganze Welt. Gleichzeitig mit dem Rückgang des Meereises und der sich verändernden Verteilung der lebenden Meeresressourcen hat eine Zunahme des wirtschaftlichen Interesses an der Region zu Bedenken hinsichtlich der Nachhaltigkeit der wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten in der Arktis geführt. Um Wege zu finden, wie der Schutz und die nachhaltige Nutzung der arktischen Meeresumwelt gewährleistet werden können, ist ein umfassendes Verständnis der Meeresumwelt, der sie beeinflussen-den Belastungen und der relevanten Regulierungen und Managementmaßnahmen erforderlich. DasEcologic Institut und das Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies haben sich zum Ziel gesetzt, durch eine Reihe von Berichten zum Meeresschutz in der Arktis einen Überblick über die relevantenInformationen zu geben. Die Berichte konzentrieren sich auf die fünf arktischen Anrainerstaaten: Ka-nada, Dänemark (durch Grönland), Norwegen, die Russische Föderation und die Vereinigten Staaten.Darüber hinaus gibt ein regionaler Bericht einen umfassenden Überblick und fasst die einschlägigen internationalen und regionalen Vorschriften zusammen. Der vorliegende Bericht behandelt die für den Meeresschutz in der norwegischen Arktis relevantenInformationen. Der Bericht deckt vier Hauptthemen ab: Er beginnt mit der Beschreibung der wichtigsten Merkmale der Meeresumwelt der norwegischen Arktis. Anschließend werden wesentlichenBelastungen untersucht, die sich auf die marine Biodiversität in der Region auswirken, gefolgt von einer Untersuchung der soziokulturellen und wirtschaftlichen Rolle sowie der Umweltauswirkungen der wichtigsten meeresbezogenen menschlichen Aktivitäten in der norwegischen Arktis. Der letzteTeil des Berichts gibt einen Überblick über die relevanten nationalen Institutionen sowie über Regulierungen, Vorschriften und Instrumente, die zum Schutz der norwegischen arktischen Meeresbiodiversität und zur Gewährleistung ihrer nachhaltigen Nutzung eingesetzt werden oder eingesetzt wer-den könnten. Hinweis: Die in diesem Bericht präsentierten Informationen wurden hauptsächlich während der weltweiten Covid-19-Pandemie und vor dem russischen Einmarsch in die Ukraine im Jahr 2022 zusammengetragen. Die (weiteren) politischen und wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen dieser Ereignisse und dies ich daraus ergebenden Veränderungen in der Arktis-Governance sind zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt nichtabsehbar, und es ist zu erwarten, dass sich einige der in diesem Bericht dargestellten Entwicklungen und Trends erheblich ändern werden. Die Kernbotschaften des Berichts finden sich unter der folgenden englischen Zusammenfassung.

Description: The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average. These rapidly increasing temperatures are already profoundly changing the Arctic, and will continue to do so, with yet unknown con-sequences for the region as well as worldwide. The diminishing sea ice extent and the changing distribution of marine living resources have led to an increase in economic interest in the region as well as concerns about the sustainability of economic activities in the Arctic. In order to identify ways in which conservation and sustainable use of the Arctic marine environment can be ensured, a broad understanding of the marine environment, the pressures affecting it, and the relevant regulations is needed. Ecologic Institute and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies aim to provide an overview of relevant information through a series of reports on marine conservation in the Arctic. The reports focus on the five Arctic coastal states: Canada, Denmark (by virtue of Green-land), Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States. In addition, a regional report is providing a broader overview and summarises relevant international and regional regulations. This current report presents an overview of information relevant to marine conservation in the Norwegian Arctic. The report covers four main issues: it starts with the description of the key characteristics of the Norwegian Arctic marine environment. Then it examines significant pressures impacting marine biodiversity in the region, followed by exploring the socio-cultural and economic role as well as the environmental impact of the main sea-based human activities in the Norwegian Arctic. The last part of the report describes the Norwegian ocean governance system and provides an overview of relevant national institutions as well as rules, regulations and tools which are, or could be, employed to protect Norwegian Arctic marine biodiversity and ensure its sustainable use. NB: The information presented in this report was mainly collated during the global Covid-19 pandemic and prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The (further) political and economic impacts of these events and resulting changes in Arctic governance cannot be foreseen at this point in time and it can be expected that some of the developments and trends presented in this report may change substantially.

Description: Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is an important cofactor of calcium‐ and lanthanide‐dependent alcohol dehydrogenases, and has been known for over 30 years. Crystal structures of Ca–MDH enzymes (MDH is methanol dehydrogenase) have been known for some time; however, crystal structures of PQQ with biorelevant metal ions have been lacking in the literature for decades. We report here the first crystal structure analysis of a Ca–PQQ complex outside the protein environment, namely, poly[[undecaaquabis(μ‐4,5‐dioxo‐4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐pyrrolo[2,3‐f]quinoline‐2,7,9‐tricarboxylato)tricalcium(II)] dihydrate], {[Ca3(C14H3N2O8)2(H2O)11]·2H2O}n. The complex crystallized as Ca3PQQ2·13H2O with Ca2+ in three different positions and PQQ3−, including an extensive hydrogen‐bond network. Similarities and differences to the recently reported structure with biorelevant europium (Eu2PQQ2) are discussed.

Description: Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is an important cofactor of calcium‐ and lanthanide‐dependent alcohol dehydrogenases. The crystal structure of a Ca–PQQ complex (Ca3PQQ2·13H2O) is reported for the first time outside a protein environment. image

Description: research

Description: Incoherent diffractive imaging (IDI) promises structural analysis with atomic resolution based on intensity interferometry of pulsed X‐ray fluorescence emission. However, its experimental realization is still pending and a comprehensive theory of contrast formation has not been established to date. Explicit expressions are derived for the equal‐pulse two‐point intensity correlations, as the principal measured quantity of IDI, with full control of the prefactors, based on a simple model of stochastic fluorescence emission. The model considers the photon detection statistics, the finite temporal coherence of the individual emissions, as well as the geometry of the scattering volume. The implications are interpreted in view of the most relevant quantities, including the fluorescence lifetime, the excitation pulse, as well as the extent of the scattering volume and pixel size. Importantly, the spatiotemporal overlap between any two emissions in the sample can be identified as a crucial factor limiting the contrast and its dependency on the sample size can be derived. The paper gives rigorous estimates for the optimum sample size, the maximum photon yield and the expected signal‐to‐noise ratio under optimal conditions. Based on these estimates, the feasibility of IDI experiments for plausible experimental parameters is discussed. It is shown in particular that the mean number of photons per detector pixel which can be achieved with X‐ray fluorescence is severely limited and as a consequence imposes restrictive constraints on possible applications.

Description: Starting from a simple model of stochastic fluorescence emission, a theory is derived of contrast formation and signal‐to‐noise ratio for incoherent diffractive imaging; its feasibility for plausible experimental parameters is discussed. image

Description: People living or working in the Arctic are faced with uncertainty regarding future social, political, economic, and environmental change. This uncertainty is due not least to the ongoing transformations caused by climate change. This paper presents results from a project entitled “Yamal 2040: Scenarios for the Russian Arctic”, which employed ‘Strategic Foresight’, a specific co-design and engagement methodology, to support stakeholders of one particular region in the Arctic, the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Yamal region) in Western Siberia, Russia. It was the project’s objective to respond to this situation of general uncertainty, to develop forward-looking scenarios to better understand the risks and opportunities associated with future transformations in the Arctic. The findings presented here may be of interest for stakeholders in other parts of the Arctic and Russia that depend on the exploitation of fossil fuels and/or are facing complex and uncertain situations.

Description: This report – Study on the socio-economic importance of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the Southeast Atlantic region – aims to analyse the socio-economic importance of the ABNJ adjacent to the countries within the Abidjan Convention Area in West, Central and Southern Africa. It characterizes the socio-economic interests in ABNJ, underpinned by the ecosystem services concept, and the actual and potential social and economic outcomes (costs and benefits) associated with the conservation and use (exploitation) of marine resources, both in qualitative, and to the extent possible in quantitative terms. In this study, the term “socio-economics” is taken in a broad context to include the social aspects related to human well-being, livelihoods, impacts on communities, equity, socio-political systems, as well as economic ones. The analysis is based on an extensive literature review of scientific publications, articles, analysis of available data, stakeholder knowledge and experience, as well as expert opinion gathered through targeted interviews. It provides a narrative and forward-looking assessment of the key activities. The information presented is intend-ed to support decision-makers, including government officials, the private sector and other stakeholders to make informed decisions about ABNJ and weigh environmental, social and eco-nomic objectives, in the context of a new internationally binding treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction, the BBNJ agreement. This report is part of a series of reports covering issues of ocean governance with a focus on the Southeast Atlantic (and Southeast Pacific) published under the STRONG High Seas project – Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance for the High Seas (June 2017 – May 2022).

Description: While the positive impacts of renewable energy development, the implementation and use of renewable energy for people and the planet are widely recognised, the direct contribution of local renewable energy projects to local community well-being has received limited attention. And while the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), have been rightfully celebrated as global milestones towards securing livelihoods and opportunities now and in the future, they lack societal ownership and traction among communities, who are decisive in supporting and driving the necessary sustainability transformation. However, aside from energy access, the opportunities for local energy projects to provide broader positive effects (such as community revenues) through co-investments are largely regarded as secondary co-benefits, if not entirely ignored by development policies and practices. Tapping into these opportunities for effective policies and practices in climate action and international development calls for a different approach to sustainable energy development (energy transitions in some countries): a social performance approach to energy development and investment, which we outline in this paper. In the context of this paper, the social performance of energy sector investments refers to direct and positive social impacts on the well-being of individuals and communities during the development and implementation of energy projects and the usage of locally generated energy, in both monetary and non-monetary ways. In essence, the social performance approach in energy-sector investments and energy-project development puts the needs and well-being of people – both current and future generations – at the centre of energy development and related investments and activities. The social performance approach that we propose builds on the conceptual foundations of the capability approach, the co-benefits approach, the Need–Opportunity–Ability (NOA) model, and important groundwork on community development in South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). An important aspect of the social performance approach is its focus on the direct contribution of these investments in fostering the well-being of individuals in a manner that reflects their aspirations for good quality of life. This approach can facilitate regular evaluation of progress and ensures accountability and adjustment of implementation strategies so that future investments, design, and implementation strategies perform both for people and the planet. Social performance can be used to compare how different energy options (e.g., a coal-mining site, a renewable wind park, or decentralised energy services such as solar mini-grids) may effectively and comprehensibly improve the lives of people and local communities. The social performance approach helps to identify concrete intervention points or enablers, to ensure and increase the positive contributions of energy-sector investments to the well-being of individuals and communities, either in monetary ways such as local economic value creation and employment, or in non-monetary ways such as community cohesion and social inclusion. In this paper we suggest that, consequently, policy interventions and investments aimed at decarbonising energy systems should not simply be monitored in view of how they perform for communities and people on the ground; rather, these interventions and investments should be intentionally designed to maximise their social performance for individuals and communities.

Description: This article reflects the partial results of my ongoing research as part of the International Climate Fellowship Program of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which I am carrying out at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies – IASS Potsdam, Germany.

Description: Post-pandemic recovery plans will play an important role in strengthening healthcare systems and rebuilding economies. These stimulus packages and policy responses present a unique opportunity to steer the global economy towards sustainable growth, increase resilience and bolster efforts to tackle the challenge of climate change. This IASS Discussion Paper shows how policymakers could align post-pandemic recovery planning with existing climate goals to unlock co-benefits for sustainable development and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Description: The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is presently developing regulations (the “Mining Code”) to govern the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources of the international seabed (or “Area”). Whilst the financial mechanism is a critical component of this Mining Code, its development has been delegated to the Open-Ended Ad Hoc Working Group of the Council. These informal discussions have prioritized a model that gives preference to enabling mining over delivering fair compensation for the loss of resources. This policy brief argues that a fundamentally different and comprehensive approach is required and outlines some of its key components.

Description: The German government has resolved to phase out coal-fired power plants at the latest by 2038. The coal exit will inevitably mean the end of lignite mining in Lusatia, a central economic sector that has played a major role in shaping the region’s identity. However, against the backdrop of the worsening climate crisis, lignite is a hotly contested political issue. Although there are many people in Lusatia who reject the coal exit by 2038, lignite is not uncontroversial here either. (see Bischoff et. al. 2021). At the same time, in recent years the right-wing populist and to some extent radical right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has gained mass appeal among some of the Lusatian population. With their right-wing populist orientation and simplistic friend-foe argumentation, the AfD is driving social polarisation. The party rails against the coal exit, sheds doubt on man-made climate change and, more recently, has sought proximity to pandemic deniers. But why exactly is right-wing populism so popular in Lusatia? Why does this success pose a threat to structural change in the region? And how might we remove the breeding ground for right-wing populism and counteract social polarisation? This Discussion Paper addresses these questions and develops three approaches for countering social polarisation so that the coming structural change in Lusatia can be successful. Acknowledge diversity Lusatia is often presented as a homogeneous area with a homogeneous population. This in no way reflects the social reality on the ground. The population in Upper and Lower Lusatia is very heterogeneous in terms of their origins, political views, and religious beliefs. This diversity must be acknowledged and viewed as a resource for the region. Establish a culture of immigration Since 2000 alone, the population in Lusatia has declined by about 20 per cent, from 1.4 million to 1.1 million, and the average age has increased significantly (WRL 2019, 27). For the future, it is imperative to establish a culture of immigration to make the region attractive both for people who left as young adults and for people from other parts of Germany and abroad. Take fears about the future seriously, but do not exacerbate them The massive economic and social changes of the 1990s have stirred fear of change in the region. For this reason, it is important to establish spaces where dialogue can take place on what the future might look like without strengthening vague fears stemming from past experiences.

Description: The purpose of this study is to examine if and how the EU CBAM influences the climate policy debate in Ukraine, one of the countries that is expected to be most affected due to its large share of carbon- intensive exports to the EU. The study seeks to find out how the EU CBAM can be made more instrumental in promoting an increase in the country’s climate policy ambition.

Description: This report contributes to the modelling work in SENTINEL and beyond in two main ways. First, we provide three social storylines that are closely linked to different governance logics and build on observed social and political drivers and barriers in the European energy transition. This is different than most other storylines used for modelling, because ours are based on governance patterns and normative assumptions of a “good future”, and not on the more common geopolitical or techno-economic storyline assumptions. Second, we provide quantitative, empirical data for several important social/political parameters that can be used together with the storylines or as separate building blocks to answer specific research questions with energy models.

Description: Air pollution exposure in urban areas is a threat to human health. One of the largest sources of air pollution in urban areas is vehicles. This is particularly true for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and underlines the need for a shift away from motorized individual transport toward healthy, sustainable transport. The paradigm shift - the Verkehrswende or Mobilitätswende (Traffic Transition or Mobility Transition) - as it has come to be called, has enjoyed broad support from citizens and decision- makers alike for decades, yet remains largely unrealized. Berlin was the first city to pass a Mobilitätsgesetz (Mobility Act). This law has many provisions to expand infrastructure for sustainable transport, such as supporting more cycling infrastructure, prioritizing cycling, walking, and public transit, and overall a more liveable, accessible city. To understand the effect of mobility policy on air quality, real-world experiments provide an opportunity to quantitatively assess the effect of such infrastructure changes on air quality. Here we found that the implementation of a bike lane reduced the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide that cyclists are exposed to. Furthermore, the small-scale repurposing of street space through a temporary Spielstrasse (community space) which closed a section of a street to vehicles to open the space for the community, also reduced air pollution during the occurrence of the community space. Such quantitative assessments of urban mobility policies can provide valuable information for policy decisions.

Description: This report aims to assess the contribution to human well-being of current and potential socio-economic activities in marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the Southeast Pacific, highlighting human dependence on the ecosystem services that marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) provides, as well as on those activities that compete with or generate negative effects on it as a consequence of their deployment. The study focuses on the socio-economic aspects that depend on, and interact with, BBNJ in the FAO 87 region, corresponding to the area in front of the jurisdictional areas of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia (member countries of the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific or CPPS1), and in general for the well-being of mankind.

Description: The decarbonisation of the European energy system is a large-scale transformation, which demands not only for a techno-economic feasibility analysis, but also for an assessment of the social and political feasibility and environmental impacts. However, most energy models are not able to fully represent the social and political developments and dynamics of the energy transition, such as preferences, acceptance and behavioural changes of citizens and decision-makers. To address this shortcoming, we developed QTDIAN (Quantification of socio-Technological DIffusion and sociAl constraiNts) − a toolbox of qualitative and quantitative descriptions of socio-technical and political aspects of the energy transition. In this deliverable, we present and discuss the linking of QTDIAN with the energy demand models DESSTINEE, HEB and DREEM, and the energy system model Euro-Calliope. The purpose of linking the models is to integrate the outputs from QTDIAN into the energy models to allow for an empirically based and thus more realistic analysis of energy system trajectories, with a higher relevance for informing pending policy decisions. The central question we address is: How can the social storylines and quantifications from QTDIAN be transferred into energy demand and systems models? We show several ways how QTDIAN’s quantified variables allow for a direct application of the storylines into the modelling process of Euro-Calliope, DESSTINEE, HEB and DREEM. The qualitative storylines ensure that modellers do not create technically feasible energy systems that are outside the realms of social or political realities. In addition, the quantitative data can be used to improve the accuracy and especially the policy relevance of the modelling results by providing specific estimates for social and political variables and constraints. However, not all aspects of QTDIAN could be integrated because not all aspects of the storylines could be quantified, and the models to which QTDIAN links in this deliverable are not able to capitalise on all QTDIAN outputs. We identified further requirements for data, including different temporal and spatial scales. We conclude that the linking of QTDIAN with energy demand and energy systems models is a promising approach to better represent socio-political drivers and barriers for technology changes and climate change mitigation measures. We will run the models with the integrated linkage with QTDIAN to evaluate the outcomes and added value of the linking in the context of SENTINEL case studies (WP7).

Description: This paper focuses on barriers and drivers of personal and public engagement. The success of climate change policies in democracies depends on social consent and ownership of the actions taken. Campaigners and decision-makers therefore need to communicate their ideas in a way that speaks to and galvanises people. To do this successfully, the first step is to recognise what motivates people to act and what hinders them. This paper contributes to answering these questions by giving an overview of theories from psychological and communication science on the cognitive biases that obstruct logical decision-making. It then moves on to suggest an alternative to the widely used “fear appeal” in communication about climate change: an opportunity-oriented framing of climate mitigation that connects to people’s values with the prospect of fostering long-lasting engagement with sustainable action. Lastly, the paper explores how the co-benefits framing can be used for policymaking.

Description: This policy brief provides an overview of the key concepts and discussions currently underway regarding global ocean governance. It is based on the ongoing work of the STRONG High Seas project; it highlights key considerations for States and stakeholders seeking an introduction into ocean governance and makes initial suggestions for improving and enhancing the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity across global policy processes.

Description: This report explores the challenges of address-ing emerging activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) through a case study – a hy-pothetical proposal to develop commercial fish-eries in the mesopelagic zone. The case study considers how such a proposal might be ad-dressed by existing global and regional bodies and processes and the potential future role of the BBNJ Agreement.

Description: This analysis addresses the question which role regional level governance plays as part of a multi-layered approach addressing marine plastic pollution. It looks at what regional organisations have achieved so far and offers recommendations for policymakers on how these efforts can be leveraged, supported and linked to a proposed new global agreement on marine plastic litter. The research aims to inform international discussions and efforts to prevent plastic pollution, including further work under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Assembly.

Description: Albert Einstein’s assertion that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used to create them has never been truer than it is today as the world grapples with the global health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2019, representatives from 142 countries gathered for the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) to review progress towards the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to identify areas in urgent need of attention. Progress towards achieving the Agenda’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) had been uneven prior to the pandemic, but its outbreak abruptly disrupted implementation towards many of these goals and, in some cases, reversed decades of progress. The crisis has affected every segment of society and has rocked economies around the world. Unsurprisingly, it is the poorest and most vulnerable populations that will suffer the most. The pandemic has exposed harsh and profound inequalities in societies and is further exacerbating disparities within and between countries. Although the SDGs are broad global goals, their implementation is rooted in action at the local level. The authors of this publication collectively represent the Global South and their expertise touches on some of the key challenges facing us today: water and sanitation (SDG 6), biodiversity (SDG 15), energy (SDG 7), economics (SDG 8), poverty (SDG 1), inequality (SDG 10), urban sustainability (SDG 11), climate action (SDG 13) and more. The challenges presented by the pandemic are without precedent in our lifetimes. Robbed of our equilibrium, we decided to focus our thoughts on achieving a deeper understanding of the implications of this crisis for sustainable development, climate protection, and our respective areas of focus. This led us to consider how we could work together and help to forge pathways towards a more sustainable and equitable world.

Description: Albert Einsteins Erkenntnis, dass man Probleme niemals mit derselben Denkweise lösen kann, durch die sie entstanden sind, war nie wahrer als heute, da die Welt mit der globalen Gesundheitskrise der Covid-19-Pandemie zu kämpfen hat. Im Juli 2019 versammelten sich Vertreterinnen und Vertreter von 142 Ländern beim Hochrangigen Politischen Forum für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (HLPF), um die Fortschritte bei der Umsetzung der Agenda 2030 für Nachhaltige Entwicklung der Vereinten Nationen zu überprüfen und Bereiche zu identifizieren, die dringend der Aufmerksamkeit bedürfen. Die Fortschritte bei der Erreichung der UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele (SDGs) waren schon vor der Pandemie uneinheitlich, aber der Ausbruch der Pandemie hat die Umsetzung vieler dieser Ziele abrupt unterbrochen und in einigen Fällen Jahrzehnte des Fortschritts rückgängig gemacht. Die Krise hat alle Bereiche der Gesellschaft erfasst und Volkswirtschaften auf der ganzen Welt erschüttert. Es überrascht nicht, dass die ärmsten und verletzlichsten Bevölkerungsgruppen am meisten leiden. Die Pandemie hat tiefgreifende gesellschaftliche Ungleichheiten offengelegt und verschärft die Unterschiede innerhalb von und zwischen den Ländern weiter. Obwohl es sich bei den SDGs um breit angelegte globale Ziele handelt, findet ihre Umsetzung ganz wesentlich auf lokaler Ebene statt. Die Autorinnen und Autoren dieser Publikation repräsentieren gemeinsam den Globalen Süden und bringen Fachwissen zu einigen der wichtigsten Herausforderungen mit, vor denen wir heute stehen: Wasser und Sanitäreinrichtungen (SDG 6), Biodiversität (SDG 15), Energie (SDG 7), Wirtschaft (SDG 8), Armut (SDG 1), Ungleichheit (SDG 10), nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinden (SDG 11), Klimaschutz (SDG 13) und mehr. Die Herausforderungen, die die Pandemie mit sich bringt, sind zu unseren Lebzeiten ohne Beispiel. Als die Welt aus den Fugen geriet, beschlossen die Autorinnen und Autoren dieser Publikation, ein tieferes Verständnis für die Auswirkungen dieser Krise auf die nachhaltige Entwicklung, den Klimaschutz und unsere jeweiligen Forschungsschwerpunkte zu erlangen. Sie überlegten, wie sie zusammenarbeiten und dazu beitragen können, Wege zu einer nachhaltigeren und gerechteren Welt zu entdecken.

Description: While the positive impacts of renewable energy for people and the planet are widely recognized, the direct contribution of local renewable energy projects to local community well-being has received limited attention. And while the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development have been rightfully celebrated as global milestones for securing livelihoods and opportunities now and in the future, they lack societal ownership and traction in local communities, who are decisive in supporting and driving the necessary sustainability transformation. In this paper, we introduce the Social Performance Index (SPI) for energy sector investments as a tool to systematically assess, monitor, compare, and communicate the social performance of energy projects on the well-being of communities and their members. By social performance of energy sector investments, we mean direct and positive social impacts on the well-being of individuals and communities during the development and implementation of energy projects and their access to locally generated energy, either in a monetary or a non-monetary way.

Description: At their core, the UN Climate Change conferences known as “COPs” are the primary international venue for negotiating how countries should act and cooperate to avoid dangerous climate change. The 2015 Paris Agreement is its most recent notable success. Although the climate negotiations are a state government-led process, the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) community has increasingly recognized the need for dialogue and engagement with non-governmental stakeholders in acknowledgement of the critical role they will play in mobilizing and implementing climate change solutions. Non-governmental stakeholders include science, civil society, the private sector, and local communities. Such non-governmental stakeholders also attend the COP in large numbers, where they aspire to influence the negotiations, make their voices heard, and generally contribute to advancing climate action. Indeed, the COP has tremendous convening power, annually bringing together tens of thousands of people working on diverse aspects of climate policy, science, and advocacy in one place at the same time. Despite this enormous collective potential, a communication culture has developed that relies heavily on conventional presentation and panel formats that are not conducive to mutual engagement and learning. We therefore see a need to reinvigorate the COPs through new formats of dialogue that can better foster collaboration and co-creation of climate change solutions. Against this backdrop we make the following three recommendations to foster reflection, dialogue, and collaboration among diverse actors at the UN Climate Change conferences, focusing on the interactions that take place outside the formal negotiations. These recommendations are intended to be actionable by different types of meeting hosts at the COP, including observers, Party delegates, the UNFCCC Secretariat and the COP presidency.

Description: This IASS study takes an in-depth look at Covid-19's impacts on the global energy sector, and then zooms in to the country level to see individual country effects and responses. The case studies are compiled by energy researchers in Argentina, China, Germany, India, Israel, and the United States.

Description: This Discussion Paper discusses the implications of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan for plastic and packaging waste. According to a recent report, each European Union (EU) inhabitant generated 172.6 kg of packaging waste in the year 2017, 19% of which was made of plastic. Amid growing concerns about the environmental effects of such consumption habits, the regulation of packaging waste and plastic has moved to higher up the legislative agenda of the EU in recent years.

Description: This summary for decision makers is based on the report ‘Ecological Baselines of the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific – Status of Marine Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Pressures in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’ and provides consolidated information on key biological and ecological features of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the Southeast Atlantic as well as highlights key pressures placed upon it by human activities. ABNJ include the water column (the high seas) and the seabed (the Area) outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of coastal States and cover about half of the Earth’s surface. This summary is intended to inform relevant actors and stakeholders to support their understanding of the function and importance of marine biological diversity in ABNJ and the need to for appropriate conservation and management measures. The report was prepared as part of the Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance for the High Seas (‘STRONG High Seas’) project – funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

Description: This report explores how the co-benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency saving measures can play an active role in connecting the Mexican energy transition with key processes and commitments for development that have been determined by the country itself. These include the National Development Plan (NDP) for 2019-2024 as well as climate goals or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), to which Mexico is committed under the Paris Agreement. This study, published in conjunction with the project Enhancing the Coherence of Climate and Energy Policies in Mexico (CONECC), offers quantitative evidence of the co-benefits of two routes (scenarios) for energy transition as related to the Energy Transition Law (LTE). These vary in scope however, revealing how the co-benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency can help to play an active role in achieving national development goals.

Description: How can science and business help build sustainable societies? This question took centre-stage at the second Global Sustainability Strategy Forum (GSSF), held on 22 - 24 March 2020. The event did not take place in Bangkok as previously planned due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, 25 leading experts from business and sustainability science came together online to discuss how the two sectors could work together more effectively.

Description: This report provides guidance to decision makers in all types of public and private organizations involved in the planning and development of CCU. It is prepared within the scope of the CO2nsistent project funded by the Global CO2 Initiative and EIT Climate-KIC, and is based on the published TEA and LCA Guidelines v.1. This report provides user-centered guidance on how to commission and understand TEA and LCA studies for CCU, and how to determine whether existing studies are eligible to be used in a decision making process. Another primary goal of this report is to ensure that disciplinary expertise is effectively taken up by decision makers and all potential audiences. The remainder of this document is structured in two parts. Part A introduces the reader to the concept of TEA and LCA studies: What types of input can such assessments provide for decision making? What are the limitations of their explanatory power? This part focuses on the goal and scope definition for such studies, and on other aspects that are particularly relevant for decision making. The document presents how the decision maker (or commissioner) and the assessment practitioner can jointly set the various assessment phases. These terms are explained in the boxes below. The approach and main components of TEA and LCA studies are described, with the specific goal of making the most sensitive disciplinary concepts clear and comprehensible to all audiences. Part B consists of practical tools to guide actors interested in commissioning TEA and LCA studies, and to support decision makers when evaluating and assessing TEA and LCA studies submitted by third parties. A series of consecutive steps, displayed as decision trees, provide support for checking the completeness of key aspects and requirements of TEA and LCA studies.

Description: On October 1st, 2019, the CO2nsistent Project (co-financed by the Global CO2 Initiative and EIT Climate-KIC) and the PHOENIX Initiative jointly organized a workshop in Brussels on the topic of CO2 utilization technology and assessment methodologies such as Techno-Economic and Life Cycle assessment (TEA and LCA). The event brought together LCA and TEA practitioners, national and European policy agencies, and the corporate field. To stimulate and enhance participation, diverse session formats were offered: thematic presentations by experts, a panel discussion, as well as a break-out session modeled on the “world café” method. The foci of the day were two-fold: Learning how to support European policymakers when assessing the environmental and economic aspects of CO2 utilization, and initiating an exchange with parallel European initiatives conducting research on CCU assessment methodologies and their environmental and economic perspectives. The event shed light on some unresolved issues raised by industrial actors with regard to the upcom-ing European policy and funding mechanisms (such as ETS Phase IV and Innovation Fund), while national and European decision-makers described the difficulties they face when evaluating CO2 utilization. The current ETS rules are inadequate to properly quantify the climate benefits of indus-trial CCU application, while the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) lacks requirements for broad-er environmental and social assessments. Workshop participants broadly agreed that the harmoniza-tion of LCA approaches could help to quantify the extent to which CCU can contribute to achieving the GHG emission targets described in the REDII, should address all environmental aspects, and can provide sound guidelines for implementing CCU in the ETS. At the same time, solution-oriented collaborations with LCA and TEA experts (e.g. the CO2nsistent group and others) were considered and examined, also with regard to new instruments and strategies to reduce complexity for policy-makers. The event also aimed at expanding the networks between the organizers and relevant actors in the field, with a particular focus on national and European policymakers. Members of CO2nsistent, LCA4CCU and the Joint Research Centre – all of whom are engaged in CCU assessment methodol-ogies – scrutinized alignments of proposed solutions and elaborated on specific divergences such as low-TRL technology. The likelihood that this effort could ultimately lead to standards for LCA and TEA for CCU was extensively debated with the direct support of the French (AFNOR) and German (DIN) associations for standardization.

Description: An EU Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) may bring severe economic consequences to countries without the resources to adapt to a low-carbon paradigm. The EU should therefore consider possible policy risks and involve third-country stakeholders in CBAM policy design; use CBAM revenues to fund decarbonisation in at-risk countries; and build emissions reporting requirements around existing international obligations.

Description: This factsheet presents key findings from the 2019/2020 COBENEFITS Assessment Series. Although the national COBENEFITS assessments vary in their applied methodologies and are based on different national scenarios, similar trends can be drawn from the results: If policymakers around the world take the necessary decisions to "build back better" with renewable energy now, they can harness significant co-benefits for their countries.